


Primordial

by Anonymous1313



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alpha Victor Nikiforov, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Mob, Alternate universe - Mafia, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Dark, Dark Victor Nikiforov, Explicit Sexual Content, Forced Bonding, M/M, Mafia AU, Mafia Victor Nikiforov, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Katsuki Yuuri, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Victor Nikiforov, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rough Sex, Russian Mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 06:40:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16511219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous1313/pseuds/Anonymous1313
Summary: Working as a detective was tedious enough. But being an omega on top of that? That was another story. Yuuri had worked far too hard to prove to himself and everyone else that he was not some fragile, breakable creature to be cossetted.And as much as he preferred to be actively out in the field, taking on the responsibility of looking after Viktor Nikiforov, a Russian business man currently under Detroit's witness-protection programme, was simply another routine task.Viktor Nikiforov, Yuuri would come to learn, however, was not simply just another routine case.--“I can tell you many, many things about the Pakhan, Officer Katsuki. Everything you and anyone else ever wanted to know. And more."





	1. Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost: **READ THE TAGS!!!**
> 
> As I always put in my stories when necessary: This contains **non-con and sensitive material**. Please read the tags and if any of those are a trigger for you or are not something you want to read, don’t proceed. No is a no. Stop is a stop. Don’t is a don’t. This wasn’t written to justify rape, despite how romanticized it is. Rape is rape and nothing justifies rape.
> 
> Those who've read my previous works would know that I can get dark with my stories and this one isn't an exception to that. This, too, will be quite fucked up. But, anyway, here you guys go, have another cliché scenario

* * *

“Viktor Nikiforov,” Yuuri said slowly, pursing his lips at how foreign the name felt on his tongue.

“Yep,” Phichit nodded, sliding the manila folder across the desk.

Yuuri opened the folder carefully, taking out the thin pile of papers inside. 4 years working for the task force and he still found _this_ particular aspect of the job tedious.

“26 years old, Russian citizen, CEO of a trading business in Russia…” he mumbled to himself, taking a sip of his coffee as his eyes flitted across the papers one by one. His brows scrunched as he read over a particular section on the second page, glancing up at Phichit with raised eyebrows. “He’s only been here in the US for 2 weeks and he’s already under our witness protection programme?”

“Uhuh,” the other detective answered, spinning slowly on his swivel chair from the opposite side of the desk. “He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. One of the clients he came here for happened to have some unfinished business with some… crime syndicates. Mr. Nikiforov was caught in the middle.”

“Crime syndicates. You mean a gang?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Phichit nodded. “Mr. Nikiforov and his client were in the middle of a meeting in a café in 45th Street when they were attacked. His client was killed in the crossfire.”

Yuuri frowned, reading through the last few pages. “It says here the victim was the only casualty.”

“Yes. Which is why it couldn’t have been random. The bullet that went straight through his chest was aimed for him and only for him.”

Yuuri took another sip of his coffee, eyes finally lifting from the paper. “Why would they be having a meeting in a café?”

Phichit scooted closer, taking the documents back from the other man’s hands. “They’ve been doing commercial trade with each other for a while, apparently. Mr. Nikiforov said this was supposed to be another one of their routine, casual meet-up to discuss something about imports and whatnot.”

“Considering the crime is supposed to be mob-related, it seems quite unusual that it was done out in the open like this. And with witnesses like Mr. Nikiforov left unharmed.”

“Keyword there, Yuuri: _unharmed_ ,” Phichit responded. “We want it to stay that way which is why Mr. Nikiforov’s going to be under your supervision until we make sure it’s safe enough for him to go back to Russia,” he said. He shook his head at the suspicion now etched on Yuuri’s face.

“Hey, of course, Mr. Nikiforov was initially the primary suspect here but we’ve checked his background thoroughly and the guy has a clean record. Pristine, really,” he assured the other detective. “Not a single connection with any gang activities or record of even any minor offence. The reported timings given by Mr. Nikiforov of when and where phone-calls were made with the client matched his phone’s call-tracking history - all under business hours from their respective offices and always followed with emails about company trade,” he explained.

Yuuri nodded in acquiescence, satisfied with the information. 

In all honesty, he much preferred to be out in the field and actively working on cases rather than stepping back and letting the other members of the law enforcement agency tackle the headache of thinning out the details. But he had agreed to take this specific responsibility upon Celestino’s request with the agreement that Phichit would handle the next witness-protection case directly, whenever that would be. He needed to treat this task with as much importance as any other assignment.

“Any leads on why Mr. Nikiforov’s client was gunned down?”

Phichit shrugged. “Nothing definite yet but Celestino thinks it has something to do with the Cosa Nostra since the client was Italian,” he leaned back on his chair with a sigh. “This is going to be another difficult one.”

Yuuri shook his head.  “The Cosa Nostra, huh. Of all the mafia gangs to get involved with…” 

The beta chuckled “I know. The only remotely placating thing about the victim’s death was that it was quick,” he said, setting the files down on the desk. “If it was the Bratva involved, I’m pretty sure the client would be unrecognisable.”

Yuuri stretched his arms over his head, cracking his back before standing from his seat. In his point of view, all these mob groups were equally as bad as the next.

“Whatever syndicate is actually involved here, all I have to do right now is follow Mr. Nikiforov around until he can go back home, right?”

Phichit nodded. “You just have to show him around for a bit until he’s comfortable temporarily settling here in Detroit. You’ll be constantly updated, of course. Just stick around and check on him every now and then while we keep looking at the case and make the necessary arrangements with the Russian federation. If this really was the work of the Cosa Nostra, a witness protection programme may have to be extended all the way to Russia.”

Yuuri gave a short hum, picking up the documents once again. He eyed the boldly printed **_Alpha_** at the top, studying the small picture of the man at the right top corner of the page.

_‘An alpha with silver hair. That’s new.’_

He glanced up at Phichit.

“When do I meet him?”

* * *

  
Yuuri washed his hands absently, staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror before adjusting his glasses. He turned the tap off, drying his hands before making his way out of the bathroom. He greeted the colleagues he passed by, taking his time to walk to the other side of the building where Phichit was now waiting to introduce him to Mr. Nikiforov. Yuuri stopped at the door, momentarily pausing before knocking twice.

He didn’t wait for a response, turning the handle before gently pushing the door open.

“Yuuri!” Phichit greeted brightly. “Finally, there you are! Come in, come in!”

Yuuri stopped at the doorway, staring at the stranger occupying the seat next to Phichit. Blue eyes, silver hair and pale, ivory skin. A strong jawline, high cheekbones and broad shoulders – a book-definition of the perfect alpha.

Yuuri stepped in, smiling politely as he closed the door behind him.

“Mr. Nikiforov,” he greeted, walking to the other side of the office desk and sitting on the chair. “I’m Officer Katsuki.”

“Officer Katsuki,” the other man repeated carefully, voice rich and a little deeper than Yuuri had been expecting.

Yuuri nodded, extending a hand out. “Yes. I’ll be the one guiding you around Detroit, Mr. Nikiforov.” Blue eyes eyed his hand momentarily before a larger palm gripped his own, shaking his hand firmly.

“Call me Viktor. Mr. Nikiforov sounds a little too formal,” the alpha told him, carefully releasing his grasp before turning to Phichit. “So… what exactly am I supposed to do here in Detroit now?” 

“Lay low for now is what we’re suggesting,” Phichit answered. “Your things have already been moved into your temporary apartment so settle down and get to know the area a little bit. You’ll be given sufficient weekly funds until you can return to Russia but until then, if you ever need anything or if there’s some… _trouble_ , Yuuri will be around to help you.”

Viktor glanced at Yuuri, observing the smaller man in quiet curiosity. “Like a body-guard?”

The beta laughed. “I suppose so, yes.” He patted Yuuri on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, he knows how to take care of business.”

Viktor quirked an eyebrow in interest. “Oh?”

“Yes, my partner here knows a thing or two about taking people down when he needs to.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep! He’s taken down guys more than twice his size so you’ll be in very capable hands, Mr. Nikiforov. Isn’t that right, Yuuri?” Phichit glanced to his side when there was no response. “…Yuuri?”

Yuuri snapped to attention. “Um… yeah,” he answered with a blink, slightly distracted by the deep, blue eyes currently boring into him.  

“Is everything okay, Officer Katsuki?”

Yuuri swallowed, biting out an apologetic smile. “Yes. Sorry. It’s…been a long day, Mr. Nik-”

“Please, just Viktor is fine.”

“…Viktor. Yes. Um,” Yuuri turned to Phichit, meeting his partner’s worried eyes for a second before turning back at Viktor. “There’ll be another officer waiting to escort you back to your apartment for today. I’ll stop by tomorrow and I can answer any questions you have then.”

“Tomorrow?” Viktor tilted his head to the side. “I thought you’re the one assigned to me until I can return to Russia.”

“Ah, yes,” Yuuri nodded. “But just for today, the other officers will be in charge of you while I… finalise some things.”

Viktor’s gaze shifted to Phichit for confirmation. The beta nodded in agreement with Yuuri, standing up and offering to walk Viktor back to the lobby. Yuuri gave a tight-lipped smile at the piercing stare that continued to linger on him a second too long.

“…I’ll see you tomorrow then, Officer Katsuki.”

Yuuri bade the alpha a polite goodbye, watching the two leave the office and waiting for the quiet sound of the door closing before letting out a deep exhale. He closed his eyes, head falling back and slumping on his seat as he waited.

“You okay?” Phichit asked upon returning, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Yuuri hummed. “I’m fine.”

“You sure? It’s usually me doing the spacing out.”

“I’m okay, Phichit.” He opened his eyes. “Mr. Nikiforov was just… a little distracting.”

“Distracting?”

“Mhm. He stared too much.”

“Oh yeah?” Phichit wagged his eyebrows. “Maybe he just liked what he was staring at, Yuuri. You.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. “Right.” He shook his head. “I doubt that. He looked a little confused more than anything. Probably wondering why he couldn’t smell my scent.”

“Hey, each to their own, right?” the beta shrugged. “If you wanted to use scent-blockers then who’s he to question that.”

Yuuri sighed, massaging his temples.

“But seriously though, are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m okay enough to finish going through those documents for the court hearing.”

“About that double homicide?”

“Yep.”

Phichit frowned. “You work too hard,” he commented disapprovingly. “You should go home and rest, you know. Get yourself ready for this witness-protection assignment. That’s what Celestino told you to do, anyway.”

Yuuri shook his head. “I don’t want to suddenly leave work now. If I did, Celestino would probably make me take an emergency leave.”

“Yeah,” Phichit snorted. “ ‘cause you never leave work early. Ever. Or take a holiday break unless you absolutely had to.”

“You know how the system gets. If I so much as cough around Celestino, I’d probably be sent home on sick-leave. With _pay_.”

Phichit laughed. “You say that like it’s such a horrible thing!”

“I’m not some delicate butterfly,” Yuuri rolled his eyes.

“Believe me, of all people here, I know you’re the furthest thing from a delicate butterfly,” the beta said. “So, I guess we don’t have to worry about Mr. Nikiforov being an alpha then?”

“When were we ever worried about someone being an alpha?”

“Fair point,” Phichit grinned. Yuuri adjusted his blazer and tightened his tie, getting ready to leave the small office. “Oh, by the way, before you go home today, Celestino asked if you can go see him in his office first. He needs to know when your next scheduled… _leave_ would be.”

Yuuri paused mid-rise from his seat.

His next scheduled leave. Right.

Being an omega in today’s society was… already a bother in itself, really. The unwelcomed awe-struck expressions and unpermitted adoration he had endured growing up were flustering enough.

But being an omega in the criminal task force? That was another story.

He had worked far too hard to prove to himself and everyone else that he was not some fragile, breakable creature to be cossetted and he was eternally grateful that Phichit and Celestino understood that. The scent-blockers had certainly helped in avoiding all the unnecessary coddling and pampering that he would have otherwise been subjected to had his colleagues known what his secondary gender was. Without his scent signalling to everyone that he was indeed an omega, he had at least, for the most part, been able to go about his daily life in peace.

For the most part.

“Okay,” Yuuri sighed, thinking about how he had to pick up his new batch of suppressants from the pharmacy on his way home. “I’ll go see him. Thanks, Phichit.”  


* * *

  
Speckles of stars dusted the midnight sky, the blotches of dark grey clouds obscuring the half-moon hanging above the rows of skyscrapers lining the near-empty streets below.

Blue eyes narrowed.

“No. Make sure the status of those papers remain at pending. I can’t leave yet,” Viktor said, the words of his mother-tongue flowing out smoothly as he pressed the phone closer to his ear. “I’m not done here. That’s only one mole down and he’s not the main one. I need more time.”

He sighed, leaning his forearms on the railings of the balcony.

“Yes, I know I could have sent someone out here to do this. I’m sure you or Georgi would have done a perfectly fine job, Mila.”

The alpha ran a hand through his hair.

“Unfortunately, I’ll have an officer attached to my hip soon so I don’t know when I’ll be able to update you,” Viktor continued. “But no matter what the law agency here pushes for, make sure any permit about my case is at the bottom of the priority list. I’m not returning to Russia until I’ve sorted this out.” Blue eyes darkened. “No one double-crosses me.”

He listened intently to the reply from the phone, staring down at the flecks of light from the visible houses below his temporary residence.

“Good,” he nodded, satisfied that his orders would be carried out accordingly. “Goodbye.”

Viktor ended the call, giving the phone one last look before letting it fall from his hands and clatter on the floor. He crushed the device with the heel of his foot, picking up the remnants before throwing it over the balcony and into the darkness below.

Any precaution to avoid getting tracked by _anyone_ , American authorities or otherwise, he reminded himself, was critical if he wanted to go back to Russia without trouble.

He took a slow, deep inhale, pausing when the crisp, scentless air fleetingly reminded him of the equally scentless officer from this afternoon.

That was another hindrance he needed to think about. Though perhaps… perhaps, there was a way to use this officer to his advantage.

The alpha gazed up at the black sky once more before releasing another sigh.

He’d just have to wait for tomorrow to properly meet this man. And then he can think about what he’d need to do to make sure they spend as little time together as possible.

_‘…Officer Katsuki, huh.'_

He slowly glanced behind him, thoughts of the arrangements he’d already set-up and those he still needed to establish in preparation for the upcoming weeks -likely for the upcoming months- gyrating around his mind like the steady spin of the metallic cylinder of a revolver as he stared at the vacant apartment, the emptiness of the place a reminiscent of his equally empty home in Russia. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all know where this is gonna go. Obviously we all know where it’s gonna go. We all know who Viktor is and what he’s gonna end up doing. I’m not even trying to be subtle at all. I supposed this one can be my way of compensating for not being able to extend [Esse Sui Amans](https://www.archiveofourown.net/works/12978384?view_adult=truel) ...I just thought that one was good left untouched as it is, that's all.
> 
> This will be very short. I'm aiming only for 3 chapters here. 
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> (And for those reading [Black Ink](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13846794/chapters/31847364)...I swear I'll update soon!! I just need a small distraction despite the fact that I swore I'll never do 2 multi-chapter fics simultaneously)


	2. Morningtide

* * *

Viktor dropped two cubes of brown sugar into the steaming mug of coffee, giving it a few stir before taking the two porcelain mugs by the saucers. He made his way back to the living room, setting the mugs atop the small glass table and giving the occupant of the sofa a small smile before settling on the adjacent armchair.

“Coffee and milk with two cubes of brown sugar,” he said, watching the other man take a small sip from his mug. “I didn’t put too much milk this time, did I?”

Yuuri smiled, giving a small shake of his head. “No. It’s perfect."

“Good to hear, Officer Katsuki,” Viktor said, sipping from his own cup.

Just a little over two weeks now since their first meeting and this particular routine of theirs already felt like a year-old habit.

Every day at precisely 10AM, there would be 3 consecutive raps on his apartment door and Viktor would open it to Officer Katsuki’s polite smile. He’d make them both a cup of coffee each, have a small talk whilst seated in the living room about any recent updates before the Officer would make his way to headquarters just in time for lunch.

It was an easy routine to fall into – one which ensured that Viktor was left to his own devices for most parts of the day.

“Any news from Russia?”

At this point, his case hadn’t been deemed dangerous enough that it required constant shadowing all hours of the day and Viktor had been free to venture outdoors on his own with the condition that he stayed within close vicinity of the apartment, regularly updating Officer Katsuki on his whereabouts.

That hadn’t been too much trouble, not when he was getting his own regular updates from his subordinates back in Russia about the direction of his current self-appointed assignment. Whilst the progress was slow, Viktor acknowledged that progress was progress nonetheless, no matter the pace, and that perhaps slow was better in this case considering it was something that needed to be threaded with utmost care.

“The same as yesterday - still pending, I’m afraid,” Yuuri said, slowly setting the mug back down on the table. “We’ve tried flagging your case as immediate priority but,” he sighed, sending Viktor an apologetic look, “it’s like the Russian federation is just passing it along back and forth. We’re doing the best we can.”

The Officer gave his coffee a small stir before bringing the rim of the mug back to his mouth and Viktor followed the movement, eyes surveying the natural pink hue of the pair of lips now partially hidden behind the white mug.

“I’m sorry for this delay, Mr. Nikiforov. You must be getting tired of seeing the same face checking up on you every day.”

Viktor’s eyes flickered up.

“…No, not really,” he shook his head with a chuckle. “Believe me, Officer Katsuki, it’s not a bad view at all,” he said honestly, gaze trained on the way the Officer’s eyes shot down on the table at the comment, appearing, dare Viktor say it, endearingly embarrassed. “And please, I’ve told you many times before,” he added. “Just Viktor is fine.”

Yuuri nodded mutely and Viktor stared in internal gratification at the dust of rose colouring his cheeks. For all the subtle compliments and gestures he had been offering towards the Officer, this was the first time he had actually been able to elicit _this_ particular reaction.

And what an innocently pretty reaction it was.

Viktor much preferred it over those tight-lipped, polite smiles he always received.

“…How are you finding Detroit?” Yuuri eventually asked.

“Still looking for the café with the best black coffee, Officer Katsuki,” Viktor replied coolly, leaning back on the armchair and crossing his legs, the ankle of his right foot resting on the knee of his left leg.

“Have you tried the one in Livernois Avenue?” Yuuri asked, shoulders relaxing at Viktor’s laidback demeanour. 

The alpha shook his head.

“You should,” Yuuri said. “Their coffee’s quite good.”

“Oh?” the alpha took another sip from his mug. “Do you go there often?”

“Every now and then,” the younger man answered. “Their blueberry muffin’s definitely worth returning for.”

Viktor hummed, setting down his half empty mug. “I’ll be sure to visit then.”

He would, definitely.

There wasn’t really anything else to do but roam the area whilst he waited for updates from Mila and his other informants. Besides, it had always been a good practice to familiarise himself with any foreign territory he was residing in.

“I’d tell you to visit as soon as possible but…well, with how slow your case is being handled, taking your time exploring Detroit wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Am I really just confined to Detroit?”

“For now,” Yuuri said grimly. “This is temporary but until we’re absolutely certain you’re not being targeted in any way, you can’t travel outside of Detroit.” He shot Viktor another apologetic look. “Are you sure you don’t want to call anyone else in Russia? Apart from your company, I mean?”

Viktor leaned an elbow against the armchair, resting his cheek on his palm. “I’ve already told the company I’ll be here for a little bit longer due to some…unforeseen circumstances. My subordinates will keep the business running smoothly in my absence.”

“What about your family? I know the things you’d be able to tell them would be very limited and we’d have to monitor the conversations but you can at least reassure them you’re safe. I’m sure your family would be worried if they don’t hear from you some time soon.”

There was a small pause, the stillness lasting several seconds and Yuuri’s brows scrunched, unsure of what had elicited the sudden silence.

He stared back at Viktor’s unchanging expression, blinking in confusion when the alpha’s lips slowly shifted upwards.

“I don’t have one,” Viktor explained. “A family, I mean,” he elaborated at the Officer’s confused expression.

“Oh.” Yuuri’s eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean t-”

Viktor dismissed the apologies with a shake of his head, slightly amused with the knowledge that Yuuri would likely berate himself for bringing up what was now seemingly a sensitive topic. “Don’t worry about it, Officer Katsuki. I know you only meant well.”

Yuuri nodded uncertainly, gaze falling to his lap.

“What about you?” the alpha casually asked, directing the conversation away from himself like he always did. Somewhere in their daily interactions, Viktor had made it a purpose to always steer the topic of the conversation about Yuuri who, he had come to find, was a rather interesting puzzle of a man. “Is your family in Detroit too, officer Katsuki?”

“No,” Yuuri replied with a small shake of his head, relieved that he hadn’t offended or made Viktor uncomfortable. “They’re in Japan. My older sister’s currently helping our parents run the family inn.”

“Ah, your family owns a business too?” Viktor set his empty mug down on the table, interest piping up even more at the responding fond nod. “It must’ve been nice having an older sibling around while growing up.”

Yuuri chuckled. “It had its ups and downs,” he smiled tenderly, eyes glazing over with melancholy. “My sister was a little overprotective of me when we were younger. She’s still like that even now, actually.”

“Really?” the alpha asked in interest. “Why would she be so protective you? You seem like you can take care of yourself completely fine.”

This time, it was Viktor’s turn to blink in confusion at the ensuing pause, puzzled at the way Yuuri’s face had slacked at the question and appearing to catch himself as though he had said too much – had said something to Viktor he hadn’t meant to.

The Officer bit his lip, tugging on his tie. “Well… it’s just how she is I suppose,” he said, playing off the strange pause with a small cough as he adjusted his blazer. “Maybe being an alpha also had something to do with it.”

Viktor quirked an eyebrow at the wording. _‘An alpha.’_

Interesting.

He studied the other man for a second longer, locking that particular information away before dropping the subject entirely with a forward tilt of his head, aware of the way the younger man was currently fidgeting with his fingers.

He got up from his seat, reaching for the empty mugs on the table.

“Would you like to stay for lunch?” Viktor asked, already knowing the routine answer to the similarly routine question before Yuuri could even begin to shake his head.

“I can’t today, sorry,” the younger man replied, “I need to go back to the office before noon.”

The Officer rose from his seat, stretching his arms over his head.

Viktor paused, fingertips grazing porcelain as he watched the line of Yuuri’s neck, eyes fixated on what was exposed of the smooth pale skin only to snap himself out of it once he realised Yuuri was talking to him.

“-have any plans to go anywhere today?”

“…No, Officer Katsuki,” Viktor replied carefully, eyes shifting up to Yuuri’s face. “For now, anyway. I’ll be sure to let you know if I do.”

“Okay,” Yuuri smiled, pink lips tilting up in a gentle curve. “I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Yuuri said. “Thank you again for the coffee.”

“You’re welcome.”

He escorted the Officer out of the apartment, bidding the younger man a final farewell before quietly closing the door.

Viktor took the empty mugs to the kitchen sink, turning the tap on. He began washing the mugs, thoughts drifting on what reasons an older alpha sibling could possibly have to be so overprotective over someone like Officer Katsuki - someone who, if Officer Chulanont was to be believed, supposedly had no problem taking care of himself out in the field.

_‘An alpha.’_

Viktor frowned, recalling the specific wording Yuuri had used to refer to his older sister.

 _‘If your sister’s an alpha then…’_ He ran a finger down one of the porcelain mugs absent-mindedly, the smoothness akin to the pale skin of the Officer’s neck.  _‘What could you possibly be, Officer Katsuki?’_

* * *

   
“Heat-inducers?” Viktor repeated carefully, pressing the loudspeaker button on the newly-purchased mobile phone.

“Oui, my friend.”

He frowned, adjusting the laptop perched on his lap as he sat on his bed, back resting against the headboards.

“Is that going to bring you a lot of money if you decided to distribute that? Omegas can easily just stop taking suppressants if they wanted to go into heat, can’t they?”

He scanned through the emails that had been sent to his private account, zeroing on the email that Mila had sent only 2 minutes ago titled as ‘Annual Stock Update and Analysis 2015’.

“Yes, but it’d take around a week for them to even go into pre-heat after they stop taking suppressants,” Christophe said from the other side of the phone. “These new little bonbons can trigger a heat within an hour, Viktor.” 

Viktor tapped his lips, unconvinced.

Omegas were already uncommon enough. He didn’t think there’d even be enough omegas around for Christophe to make any profit out of black-marketing heat-inducers, let alone enough omegas that would actually willingly buy illegal drugs just to go into an immediate heat.

He voiced this out, double-clicking on Mila’s email and immediately opening the attached file.

“That’s true,” Christophe agreed. “But these aren’t going to be exactly cheap. Each pill’s going to be worth a small fortune. Besides, the heats these would induce only last a day, maybe two at the most. Omegas would be a little more inclined to try it because of that, don’t you think? Instead of having to wait whilst they stop taking suppressants to start their scheduled heats, they can just take one of these pills instead and boom, 2 days later they’re good to go.”

Viktor hummed, beginning to scan through the 511-page document.

He could see how a two-day heat would seem inviting to some omegas, particularly those who’d want their scheduled heats to be shorter than the typical week-long heats they’d normally have to endure. There was also the additional benefit for alpha-omega couples who might not want to wait for medical approval to get off suppressants before they could bond.

Heats were critical for a claiming, after all.

Still, he remained sceptical of how Christophe’s new scheme could possibly become a significant development in the drug trafficking industry, simply because of how uncommon omegas themselves were.

“And of course, my friend,” Christophe chimed, “you have to remember that the omegas themselves aren’t going to be the only buyers.”

Viktor leaned back against the headboards, pausing his skimming of the opened document. “What do you mean?”

“There’s a reason heat-inducers aren’t legal in general, you know,” the other alpha answered. “Omegas need to be in heat to bond with their mate. And with how preciously rare omegas can be, some alphas out there would pay a fortune to bond with one – willing omega or not. So,” Christophe paused and Viktor could almost see his offhanded shrug, “Perhaps it’s not always going to be the omega’s choice on whether they take these heat-inducers, my friend.”

There was a long, drawn-out pause as Viktor processed that particular information.

“…I’m not convinced enough to say yes to letting you sell those on my territories yet,” he eventually said as he began to continue scrolling through the large blocks of texts and graphs once more, all of which were meaningless and insignificant, until he reached the section sub-headed as Unit 20.15. “I’ll have to see what the initial responses are to these heat-inducers first, Chris. If it’s more than satisfactory then we can have another discussion about its distribution.”

Christophe let out a booming laugh, clearly believing that Viktor will end up conceding in the future. “Great! Always enlightening talking business with you!” he commented cheerily. “That aside, how’s your mole hunting going, hm?”

Blue eyes scanned through the contents of the section, reading over the  _‘2 more renegades were taken down this morning. They gave us more names. Will update you on who can give you the main Mole as soon as possible once we interrogate them all. Take care’_ twice before answering.

“…taking a lot longer than I wanted,” Viktor said with a small, disappointed sigh.

Targeting the branches to find the root, as Yakov had eloquently put it, was indeed taking more time and patience than what he had been initially prepared for.

“Mhm,” Christophe nodded in sympathy. “Well, it’s better to be thorough when wiping your territories clean of any traitors. You can’t afford to look weak, Viktor. Others will start getting ideas if you let these idiots run free.” 

“I know,” Viktor said firmly, “which is why I’m here pulling all these weeds out of their hiding place one by one myself.”

“But don’t stress yourself _too_ much,” Christophe mused. “Once word gets out that you’re actually there in Detroit- _you_ \- dealing with this little problem, those idiots will start pointing fingers at each other to get on your good side. You’ll get all of them eventually.” 

Viktor pursed his lips.

“Take your time, mon pote,” Christophe continued. “You never know what you’ll find along the way.” 

* * *

  
Azure eyes followed the steady ticking of the clock, darkening when the large hand finally fell at 6. Viktor glanced at the empty table in-front of him, mindful of the way it was void of the usual pair of mugs.

Half past ten in the morning already and he still hadn’t prepared any coffee.

If Yuuri had noticed the slight deviation in their routine, the Officer had chosen not to comment on it.

“-high alert, especially now. There’s been 4 high-profile deaths of people with gang connections in the last week alone – 9 in total since the death of your client.”

Viktor hummed absently, only half-listening to the daily update.

 _‘A lawyer,’_ Mila had written in a follow up email sent 2 weeks after the last. ‘ _He’s supposed to be one of your men but he’s defected. Source says he has a hefty list of names of those involved in this ordeal. Might even be able to give you the Mole. If he can’t, someone in his list definitely can.’_ The rest of the email had been a brief description of the man’s history as the go-to lawyer of local mobsters that had been caught by the law, placing emphasis on the man’s additional afflictions with local mob bosses before finally ending with a  _‘We’ve arranged for him to meet a new ‘client’ for a fake case regarding fraud– this supposed client being you, of course. He doesn’t know that. The meeting’s at 11 AM in a café called Tapered Mode about a 10-minute walk away from your apartment. Update us on what you want to be done once you’ve handled him. Take care.’_

Viktor had drilled the image of the attached headshot into his mind - shaggy brown hair, scruffy face, thick glasses- immediately calling for a handful of his men to be ready at every street surrounding the café within a 1km radius by 10AM. 

“All the recent victims are either local mob bosses or their higher subordinates. I’m sure you’ve seen that on the news. It’s causing quite a stir. We think they’re all related incidents. Exactly how the cases are linked to each other, we’re not sure yet,” Yuuri continued. “But while we’re figuring it out, it’s become even more important to ensure your safety so…” Yuuri hesitated, “I’m going to have to stick around.”

Viktor stared into the depths of the whiskey-coloured eyes, taking in the uncertainty and worry being reflected back at him in the flecks of dark, molten amber. Strangely-coloured eyes they were, particularly from someone of Yuuri’s ethnicity. Viktor didn’t think he’d ever met someone with such distinctly brown eyes.

Unique, for a lack of a better description. Hypnotising, even.

Distracting.

He frowned internally, pushing the needless thoughts away, knowing it would do him no good to get side-tracked by, who he had decidedly identified to be, a mere beta officer.

He was here for a reason.

“If that’s what you deem appropriate,” Viktor said. “I could use the company, to be honest. It gets a little too quiet by myself.”

Yuuri smiled. “I can’t promise you I’m the best at conversations but... do let me know if I can do something for you to make this arrangement more comfortable.”

“I was thinking...”  Viktor started slowly, eyes momentarily flickering to the clock once more before landing back to the Officer, “that perhaps a slight change in routine today would be… nice.”

“Oh? What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I was thinking of finally visiting that café you mentioned from before,” Viktor said. “The one in Livernois Avenue.”

Yuuri leaned forwards in interest.

“Tapered Mode Café?” the Officer asked.

Viktor’s eyes glinted.

It was quite amusing, really, how coincidental it had been that the café the younger man seemed to be rather fond of was the same one Mila had set up the meeting for. And despite the high risk it would pose to have someone from the task force with him while he handled this critical part of his self-appointed assignment, being meticulously resourceful had always been an attribute Viktor was particularly proud of and Officer Katsuki’s presence should prove to be of assistance if everything went according to plan.

“That’s the one.”

* * *

  
Viktor eyed the other man from the corner of his eyes, uncaring for the silence between them in their muted journey to the café.

Officer Katsuki was indeed a highly unusual officer – a fact he’s established from the beginning. Scentless, to begin with but from what Viktor had learned in the past few weeks, he was someone who appeared to be innately brave and strong from the looks of it though… paradoxically, someone who is also rather shy, curling away from the barest hints of a compliment.

Viktor followed the way the Officer moved, his shoulders squared and his chin up, taking in the long, dark lashes behind the blue glasses perched on the other man’s face, the natural slight jut of his bottom lip and the high cheekbones.

Quite fragile, delicate features really, despite the strength supposedly hidden in the smaller frame.

Unusual indeed.

 “…You remind me of a bird.”

Yuuri blinked, turning to him with a lifted eyebrow. “A bird…?”

“Mhm,” Viktor nodded. “A pretty little bird. Like a dove, perhaps.”

“And why is that?”

The alpha shrugged. “You just do,” he answered as the café finally came into view, gaze immediately landing on a lone man with shaggy brown hair sat by a table in the corners of the outdoor sitting area, too pre-occupied with reading the newspaper to notice them. Good.

“Very graceful - the way you move.”

Yuuri gave a slight chuckle of amusement, at this point, it appeared, already used to Viktor’s random bouts of maybe-compliments.

Viktor listened to the sound absently, opening the door for the Officer.

“Well…” Yuuri started, staring at the small queue in-front of them, “this little bird’s going to get his coffee. I’ll get yours too so you can save us some seats instead.”

Viktor’s lips twitched up. “Sure. I’ll be outside.”

He waited until Yuuri was waiting steadily in-line before closing the door and slowly heading towards the empty table right beside the lone man. He made a point to scrape the legs of the chair against the concrete floor, flopping down heavily on the seat to draw the other man’s attention.

Viktor waited a few second, purposefully making no eye-contact before speaking. 

“I have people waiting for you at every corner of this street if you decide to run,” he started slowly, voice low but audible. “Give me the name of the person you double-crossed me for.”

There was an extended stillness, the silence uncomfortable and intimidating.

“Well?” he said impatiently, practically tasting the spike of fear now permeating the air. “Speak,” he commanded, wanting to get this part over with before Officer Katsuki returned.

The lawyer immediately began to scrabble for words, newspaper scrunching in his hands. “I d-didn’t _want_ to double-cross you, okay?” he began hastily. “It was either I do what they tell me or they’d have put a bullet through my head right there and th-”

“Quiet.”

“Sir, please,” the lawyer pleaded, the bubbling panic clear in his voice despite the fact that Viktor couldn’t even see his face from his angle. “If I didn’t do what he said- I swear, I’ll do anything to make-up for this, sir, I swear! Anything! I’ll tell you everything I know! All the records of the missing imports and exports to and from your turf and who handled them are back at my house so you can find every single person involved in-”

Viktor’s eyes narrowed.

“I said be quiet,” he growled. 

There was a tick of silence.

“…I don’t like blood on my hands. More so when I’m on foreign land,” Viktor started carefully. “So, you’ll tell me the name of who I’m actually looking for and then you will get up from your seat and walk to that payphone opposite the side of this street you’re facing. You’re going to call the authorities and you’re going to confess to your connections with whichever mobs here you’re involved in and wait for them to arrest you. You do all that and I won’t touch a hair on your head.”

“You want me to- y-you can’t be serious!” the lawyer sputtered.

“I am.”

“N-No! No way!”

The man stood up, knocking his chair behind him with a _clang_ as he finally whipped to the side to face Viktor. He faltered at the jarring sight of the silver locks, swallowing hard. He lowered his voice, averting his gaze to the floor as soon as it met the penetrating stare of the blue eyes now watching his every move.

“If I do that, I’ll be locked up for life,” the lawyer whispered, “and my family would be…all those gangs will all go after my family once they find out it was me who outed them.” He shook his head vehemently, eyes widening in fear. “I’m not spending the rest of my life in jail. I _can’t_. My family _needs_ me.” 

Viktor listened in silence, choosing not to respond. He exhaled heavily at the sight of Yuuri pushing the café door lightly with his shoulder, holding two steaming cups in each of his hands. The Officer made his way to the table Viktor was sat, only to pause at the sight of the standing stranger, instantly sensing the tense atmosphere.

“…Is everything okay?” Yuuri asked, locking eyes with Viktor.

Viktor stared back steadily. “I’m not too sure, Officer Katsuki,” he said, keeping his tone neutral as he tilted his head up, peering at the brown-haired man with a lifted eyebrow. “Is it?”

Yuuri scrutinised the stranger, brows scrunched in thought.

“Officer…?” the lawyer asked in confusion, eyes shifting between the two.

Yuuri slowly placed the two cups of coffee on the table, keeping his stare locked on the unfamiliar man.

“You’re an officer?”

Yuuri nodded once. “Yes. Is there a problem?”

The lawyer glanced at Viktor then at the two steaming cups on the table before looking back at Yuuri once more.

“No, Officer,” he said after a beat of silence. “No problem at all.”

“There isn’t?” Viktor interjected sharply, “Weren’t you asking me if you could use my phone to call the police a minute ago?”

Yuuri’s back straightened, suddenly looking alert.

“I…I-” the man swallowed visibly. “…Yes,” he finally nodded at the glimmer of warning in Viktor’s stare. “Yes, I did. I just… I just didn’t expect one to be here. With you.”

“I’m keeping an eye on Mr. Nikiforov for a while,” Yuuri said in explanation, tilting his head towards Viktor in indication, missing the way the name made the stranger stiffen. “Making sure he’s safe.”

The unnamed lawyer’s mouth parted in disbelief. “Keeping an eye on-” he sputtered. “Y-you’re keeping _him_ safe?” he gawked. “You, an _officer_ , protecting-” he cut off with an incredulous laugh.

“Who are you?” Yuuri frowned. 

The man shook his head, eyes becoming unfocused. He gripped his hair, lip trembling as though mumbling incoherently to himself.

Yuuri watched the strange behaviour in confusion for several seconds, taken back when the stranger began to sway on his feet, the colour suddenly draining from his already pale face.

 “…There’s already people waiting to slit my throat in prison, isn’t there?” he whispered in utter trepidation as though he had just arrived to a terrifying conclusion, his supposed deduction making his entire body tremble. “And my family… targets have already been put on my family’s heads, haven’t there?”

“What?” Yuuri asked in confusion.

“If I go to jail, I’m a goner,” the man continued, mumbling to himself more than anyone else. “And the blood wouldn’t be on _his_ hands because he wouldn’t be the one holding the blade.” He took a shuddering breath, horrified gaze dropping to the floor. “Whatever I decide to do from this point forward, my family and I are already dead, aren’t we?” He shook his head, looking nauseous. “No matter where I go, it’s either a slow, painful death courtesy of the Bratva for being a traitor or a rain of bullets from the Mole for getting caught,” his tongue darted out nervously, licking his dry lips. “I knew -I _knew-_ it was going to end up like this.”

The man let out a wheeze of a laugh devoid of any humour, the sound more hysterical and haunting than anything. Viktor watched quietly, remaining motionless as the lawyer’s trembling hand reached inside his blazer.

The alpha pursed his lips in distain at the sight of the gun now held in the lawyer’s shaking grip.

His attention abruptly snapped to Yuuri, however, when the Officer immediately bolted forward, effectively shielding Viktor with his own body.

Viktor stared at Yuuri’s back, startled by the Officer’s instinctively quick reaction.

For someone who wasn’t an alpha, Officer Katsuki was certainly… fierce. Charming this was - the way he’d risk his own life in a heartbeat. For Viktor.

How endearing.

Viktor’s eyes darkened at the passing thought of, if the time ever came, how he’d want his mate to be someone like this. Tough and resolute and fierce. Despite the fact that he could have had any mate of his choice, Viktor considered himself to be more on the traditional side in a sense that if he wanted the permanent imprints of his teeth on someone’s neck, that someone would have to be an omega.

But this omega would not have the stereotypical, traditional submissive persona that a mediocre omega would have. No, his future mate would be unbending to anyone - anyone but Viktor, of course. Someone only Viktor could pull apart and remake again and again.

Omegas were uncommon. Male omegas were the closest thing to non-existent.

And to find one that roars such alluring defiance in their veins…? 

Despite the odds, Viktor refused to settle for anything less.

His gaze moved away from who, he was absolutely certain, the beta officer, Yuuri’s placating “…there’s other ways to this. I can help you” pulling him back to the scene at hand, finding the barrel of the lawyer’s gun now pointed to his own head. 

The lawyer shook his head vigorously. “No, sir, you can’t. _He’s_ her _e_. He’s actually  _here_ ,” he said, the increasing pitch in his voice making him sound manic.

“He? Who’s ‘he’?”

The man ignored the question, pushing the gun harder against his head.

“They swore he’d never come here himself – that he would never risk showing himself like this. He never has before. That’s why I agreed to it,” he muttered to himself, gaze becoming even more unfocused. “They were wrong. How can they be so wrong about something like that?”

“Who? Who’s here?” Yuuri pressed on, shoulders hunching in preparation to tackle the weapon away.

The stranger trembled even harder, the barrel of the gun clacking against his temple. Yuuri stopped his slow advancement immediately, apprehensive about antagonising the unnamed man further.

“Okay,” the Officer tried again slowly. “You’re scared, I understand. But you don’t have to do this. Put the gun down and we can work something out. If it’s safety you need from whoever it is threatening you then we can offer you that,” he said. “But you have to put that gun down first, okay?”

Viktor leaned his cheek against his palm, watching with indifference as the man shook his head violently once more.

“I was a dead man walking the second I agreed to double-cross him, Officer,” the man said defeatedly.

He stared Yuuri dead in the eyes.

“The Pakhan doesn’t forgive.”

Yuuri sucked in a breath, eyes widening.

“ _Don’t_ -” 

Viktor observed in silence, blue eyes unblinking as red splattered on the pavement, the sound of a single gunshot deafening in the early morning hours of Livernois Avenue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still here *waves arms* I hope never to leave any story of mine unfinished so despite the long wait, here's the second chapter. I intended 3 chapters maximum but it looks like it's pushing closer to 5 hmmm 
> 
> But anyway, slow start but next chapter is gonna start hitting the E rating and it's just gonna continue from there. Apologies for the delay, it's been difficult to find time and motivation to write anything but I'm trying! Thank you all for the support and let me know how you're finding this one!


	3. Meridiem

* * *

Yuuri stared at the pages scattered on top of Celestino’s desk, frowning at how scarce the numbers actually were.

“This is it? This is all we have?”

“Yes,” Celestino nodded solemnly, crossing his arms and leaning back against his seat. “This is all we have.”

“Surely with how active the Bratva is known to be, we should have more information on their actual leader, shouldn’t we?” Yuuri said uncertainly, glancing at each of the papers. None of these even had sketches of the man in question, let alone any actual photographs.

Celestino sighed. “We have plenty of information on cases involving the Bratva, Yuuri. Plenty,” he said. “But information on the Pakhan himself?” He shook his head. “Close to nothing. He’s far too elusive. We don’t know his real name and we don’t even have solid reports on what he actually looks like.”

Yuuri kept his eyes on the papers, counting a total of 7 one-page documents as he listened idly to his Captain.

“Supposedly, he’s in his mid-20s but that’s not a reliable estimate by any means,” Celestino continued. “Some source says he has blue eyes, others say it could be green or grey. We have some older documents here with a plausible witness saying the Pakhan definitely has long, pale hair but, on the other hand, we have some newer ones here saying it was cut short.” Celestino released another defeated sigh. “Any information we have on him are so vague and contradicting that everything is just… inconclusive.”

The omega brushed a hand against the papers absently. 

“…that lawyer said he’s here in Detroit,” he said quietly. He looked up at his superior. “The Pakhan.”

Celestino stared steadily back before giving one, slow nod. “Yes. You mentioned that in your witness testimony,” he responded carefully. “But the lawyer was hysterical at the time of his interaction with you. We have to handle everything he said very cautiously.”

“How likely is it that he was telling the truth?” Yuuri asked, fingers absently drawing random patterns on the table.

He knew it wasn’t in his place to inquire about such sensitive information about the case, not when he wasn’t directly involved in the current investigational aspect but, like always, it was too easy to give in to his curiosity.

 _‘You’re doing it again. Seriously, you're too curious for your own good, otouto,’_ he could almost hear Mari chastising him again.  _‘There’s no use attracting unnecessary trouble, Yuuri. Sometimes, certain things are better left alone no matter how morbidly interesting it might seem to you, okay?_ ’

His lips twitched up, the reminder of his sister bringing about a fond flutter in his chest as he felt the phantom taps of her pointer finger on his forehead – the act something his older sister often liked to do when she was scolding him for one thing or another.

He really should call home soon, maybe even arrange to go back to Hasetsu for a few weeks. His parents and his sister would definitely be overjoyed.

“It’s difficult to say at this point,” Celestino answered, pulling him out of his thoughts. “We’re going through his history including all the cases and clients he’s dealt with to see if there’s anything we can find that can link him to the Bratva. Or any other mob groups, for that matter. Until we’re finished with that, it’s difficult to come to any type of deduction.”

Yuuri chewed on his lip. “But what the lawyer said could explain all these mob-related deaths, couldn’t it?”

“Yes, it could explain that,” the older man agreed. “For now, the Bratva being accountable is the lead we’re actually going with.” Celestino leaned back in his seat with furrowed brows. “But like I said, we have to also remember that the lawyer was… out of his mind when he said all these things to you. We don’t have any toxicology reports yet. He could have been on drugs for all we know. And the Pakhan…” he trailed off, sighing tiredly, “to think the Pakhan would be here of all places…”

With a shake of his head, Celestino slowly reached for the papers on the table.

“It’d be unreal. He’s been like a shadow all these years, Yuuri - just reputably flawless in avoiding the limelight. We know he’s _there_ but we don’t know anything about him,” Celestino continued. “To us, he’s just this silhouette-” hidden, formidable and faceless, “-overlooking the Bratva.”

If they had been speaking of any other matter, the tone Celestino was using would have been something akin to admiration. Yuuri couldn’t blame him. The topic of the Pakhan had always been surrounded by such cryptic ambiguity, never failing to draw in the attention of anyone within hearing proximity when the name -name? Title?- was mentioned.

“Yuuri.”

The omega looked up with a blink.

“Leave this part to us, okay?” Celestino said softly. “I promise to update you on any new leads but this part isn’t yours to stress about. You have Mr. Nikiforov to worry about.”

Yuuri nodded. Right. Of course.

“How is Mr. Nikiforov, anyway?” Celestino asked.

Viktor was…Yuuri didn’t know exactly how Viktor was, actually.

“Traumatised, I imagine,” Yuuri answered, thinking back to the way the alpha had stared at the body slumped on the pavement, cerulean eyes remaining void of any particular emotion even as they had slowly shifted up to meet Yuuri’s own wide-eyed stare.

Viktor had been strangely composed amidst the sudden torrents of screams that had erupted around them, his movements unusually calm and collected as he stood up from his seat, stepping away from the blood that had begun to seep onto the concrete in a manner similar to how one would avoid a muddy puddle.

The Officer had dismissed the odd behaviour, attributing the unsettling calmness to shock. It had to be the shock.

Even for someone working in the force, that hadn’t been an easy thing to witness.

Yuuri frowned, take a glance at the door behind him and feeling a little guilty at having let Viktor be whisked away without any proper consolation from his behalf. How inconsiderate of him.

“He’s waiting for me, sir. I should go,” he said, standing up from his seat at Celestino’s nod.

Celestino was right - he needed to focus on Viktor. Everything else to do with the Bratva and the Pakhan, everything that had nothing to do with him, can come after.

* * *

  
Yuuri opened the overhead cupboards, reaching for two plates before quietly closing the polished doors. He prepared two portions of his freshly cooked Katsudon, adding some steaming rice on the side and internally nodding in approval at how his cooking had turned out. Not exactly like his mother’s, not when he hadn’t used all the ingredients the traditional family recipe needed, but this should be satisfactory at the least.

The omega placed the full plates on the kitchen counter, turning to face Viktor who had been silently watching him from the kitchen doorway.

“Where do you keep the cutleries?”

The other man wordlessly pointed at the drawer to Yuuri’s left - still silent, Yuuri noted with a tinge of concern.

With the plates and a couple of spoons and forks balancing on his hands, he quietly brushed passed Viktor into the living room, aware of the way the blue eyes tracked his every step. Viktor had been watching him in silence the moment they stepped foot in the alpha’s apartment, following him as he had bee-lined for the kitchen where he had taken out pots and pans to his own accord. It was rather forward of him, Yuuri supposed, to just start cooking in Viktor’s apartment without so much as a warning but he couldn’t be too bothered by that, not when Viktor was probably starving at this point.

It was almost 6PM now and he knew the other man hadn’t eaten since they left the apartment together that morning. Today’s event had led to Viktor being quickly ushered into the station and being barred into a small interview room where, Yuuri was sure, he had probably only been given water after some relentless questioning regarding the incident at the café.

Yuuri should really talk to Celestino about providing more courteous amenities when it came to their witnesses.

The omega placed the plates on the small glass table, raising an eyebrow at Viktor who had been trailing behind him in a silent gesture to sit down.

“It’s nothing like my mother’s cooking,” Yuuri started as they made themselves comfortable in their self-designated positions on the sofa and armchair. “But I thought it’d be better than ordering takeout.”

Viktor stared at the steaming, home-cooked meal that had been set out on the table.  

“Eat first, okay?” Yuuri said softly, taking the alpha’s unresponsiveness as a sign of fatigue finally catching up to him. “Then we can talk.”

Viktor nodded mutely.

The two ate quietly, the silence occasionally interrupted by the clatter of the cutleries. Only when both plates were empty did Yuuri speak again.

“How are you feeling?”

 “…full,” Viktor finally responded after a tick of silence. “Really full.”

Yuuri smiled. “It’s been a while since I cooked that, actually.”

“What was it?”

“It was katsudon.”

“Katsudon?”

“Mhm. Deep-friend pork cutlet,” the omega explained. “It’s my favourite.” 

Viktor stared at the empty plates. “It was delicious,” he said.

Yuuri’s smile softened, glad that Viktor enjoyed his cooking. “Thank you.”

There was another extended period of silence, one the alpha didn’t seem interested in breaking. Yuuri sighed, the smile slipping from his face as he ran a hand through his hair.

“What you witnessed today was…horrendous,” he started in what he hoped sounded like consolation. “Some people don’t recover for a long time after seeing something like that. And on top of what happened to your client right in-front of you…” he released another sigh. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be for a civilian like Viktor to be consecutively exposed to such macabre incidents through sheer bad luck. “We’re doing our best to make sure you stay safe.”

The alpha leaned back against the armchair, appearing thoughtful as he asked, “safe from who, exactly?”

Yuuri faltered at the question, looking guiltily at his lap. “…we don’t know yet.” 

Viktor tapped a finger on the armchair, studying the Officer with curiosity. “You seem a lot more troubled about this whole ordeal than I am, Officer Katsuki.”

“It’s not fair on you,” Yuuri said, shoulders sagging. “What you saw today and what you saw a few weeks ago just because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time – it’s not fair on you. And now,” his fists clenched on his lap, “here you are, oceans away from your home without a choice and stuck with awful memories like that.”

 “…If it’s any comfort to you,” Viktor began carefully, gaze locked on the other man, “these two incidents weren’t the first ones where I witnessed something remotely… troubling.”

Yuuri’s head snapped up. What?

He blinked rapidly at the information, mouth parting immediately to ask for more information only to snap shut after a split second of thought, thinking better of himself.

What was that old saying? The one Mari used to remind him every time she found Yuuri snooping around and meddling with whatever sparked his attention?

 _‘Curiosity killed the cat, otouto,’_ the memory of Mari’s voice chided him again like a gentle reminder. ‘ _And no, don’t give me that ‘_ A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays and for the last three he stays’  _you, Yuuko and Takeshi fished out from somewhere_ _._ _’_

Ah, yes,  _that_ lecture.

Being too intrusive about Viktor’s personal life is definitely a line he shouldn’t cross and with how they were now, it wouldn’t do him any good to impose, especially when Viktor had been nothing less than polite and accommodating.

“You can ask, Officer Katsuki,” Viktor interrupted his inner contemplation. “I don’t mind." 

Yuuri blinked, finding the corners of the alpha’s mouth inched upwards knowingly, eyes glittering with something akin to amusement as though he had been blatantly aware of what had been running around Yuuri’s head.

Yuuri hesitated, chewing on his bottom lip. He shouldn’t ask. He really shouldn’t. But-

 “…what did you witness before?”

He really did need to control himself better at times like these.

Yuuri didn’t know what he was expecting for an answer. Something along the lines of a small traffic accident perhaps, maybe even an alley robbery gone out of hand– something marginally minor compared to the two recent events, something where Viktor was likely just a passer-by, where the worst was hidden by a large crowd gathering at the crime scene.

Instead, Mari’s advice was dead-on once again and what Yuuri got was-

 “My parents were killed in-front of me when I was 8 years-old.”

The omega recoiled back in shock. “I’m sorry,” he apologised immediately, heat rising to his face in shame. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked-”

Viktor shook his head in dismissal.

“We’re already on the topic of it, Officer Katsuki. It doesn’t really bother me at this point,” he said. “Unfortunately, in my country, you can’t really escape encounters with… certain crime syndicates if the business you own is based on trade. There’s bound to be some type of contact with the Bratva, you see.”

Yuuri’s focus honed in at the word, attention deviating with a blink. “You know about the Bratva?”

“Who doesn’t?” Viktor countered with a raised eyebrow. “Also…I’m Russian, Officer Katsuki,” he said like that fact explained it all. “It’d be peculiar if I _didn’t_ know about them.”

Yuuri supposed so. These days, the existence of the Bratva was the near opposite of top-secret.

“So,” the omega hesitated, “the Bratva was the reason for your parents’ death?”

Azure eyes flickered.

“…Something like that.”

Yuuri didn’t continue asking questions, knowing he had pried enough, especially since Viktor’s story was clearly an unpleasant one.

“Certain people are feared for a reason, Officer Katsuki,” Viktor continued without provocation. “It was a shame that lawyer today understood that too late.”

The alpha craned his neck side to side, stretching a little before making a move to stand.

Yuuri’s brows furrowed. Certain people? Was Viktor referring to the Pakhan?

“What makes you say that?” He asked inquiringly, tilting his head to the side.

Viktor shrugged, hands hovering over the empty plates and dirty cutleries. “Just something my previous encounters taught me.” He stacked the two plates on top of one another. “Like I said, you can’t really avoid encounters with the Bratva if your business is based on trade in Russia. Sometimes you have to do things their way if you want to… stay in business.”

Yuuri’s heartbeat began to speed-up as he attempted to decipher what Viktor was telling him. He leaned forward in interest, back straightening as he stared up inquiringly.

If the older man really did have some communication with the Bratva in the past, had it been a collaborative interaction, then? If so, did that mean the clean record the alpha supposedly had and the one which Phichit had placed emphasis on was inaccurate, after all?

“Are you saying you’ve worked with the Bratva before? With the Pakhan?”

Viktor stared at him for several, long seconds.

“With?” he asked. Yuuri watched in confusion when the other man’s lips twitched up once again, morphing in that same, elusive smile that the omega still didn’t know how to read. “No, Officer Katsuki. I haven’t worked _with_ the Pakhan.” The alpha raised an amused eyebrow. “And if I did, that’s definitely not something I’d outright confess to a police officer.”

Yuuri scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “I supposed it wouldn’t be,” he said before clearing his throat. “I’m sorry if I sounded accusatory. It’s just… I’m a little more invested in this part of the investigation than I should be,” he explained in honesty, looking down and absently tugging at the cuffs of his blazer, completely missing the glint that had flashed in Viktor’s eyes. “The Pakhan’s always been such an enigma and, well,” Yuuri shrugged, internally berating himself for leading Viktor into this conversation, “there’s barely any information on him so…” Yuuri trailed off, not really knowing how to finish.

Great. He was probably making Viktor uncomfortable with his evident fascination with the Bratva.

“…Maybe,” Viktor began slowly, empty plates still in his hands, “there are _some_ things I can tell you about him.”

Yuuri blinked. “There are?” 

“Mhm,” Viktor’s replied, the sound neither a confirmation of a yes or no. “But not tonight Officer,” he added after a glance at the clock hanging on the far-end wall. “I’m going to bed after washing these,” he gestured to the dirty plates. “It’s been a rather stressful day, I’m sure you understand.”

Yuuri nodded, unsure of how to take the abrupt dismissal of the conversation but understanding it nonetheless. Of course, Viktor needed to rest now. Where were his manners?

The omega left the apartment with a quiet farewell, the journey back to his own flat a distant haze with how deep in thought he was. He went through his nightly routine mechanically, moving without much thought and before he knew it, he had found himself in bed, the soft press of the mattress on his back not nearly as comforting as it would usually be.

Yuuri tossed and turned for hours on end, unable to sleep until, with a sigh of frustration, he finally cracked his eyes open in defeat.

The distant sound of the ticking clock continued to serve as a reminder of every passing second he spent awake and Yuuri stared at the outline of the small chandelier hanging from the ceiling of his dark bedroom, pondering over whether the things Viktor could tell him were going to be second-handed stories that the alpha had only heard from the whispers of others or if they were going to be a recount of events and information from his very own memories.

* * *

  
Viktor waited patiently for Christophe’s booming laugher to die down from the other side of the phone, resitting the urge to roll his eyes.

“You, my friend,” Christophe snorted, “really are something else.”

Viktor sighed, imagining the non-existent tear the other alpha would be wiping from the corner of his eyes.

“Stop laughing, Chris. I have bigger problems right now,” he gritted out. “Getting that list from his home is going to be a pain now that he made such a spectacle. His house is probably being turned inside-out as we speak.”

“Why is it such a problem?” Christophe asked. “You have people working for you everywhere, Viktor. You can get that list without even getting up from where you’re sitting down right now.”

Viktor massaged his temples. “I was hoping to go about this without the authorities being so close,” he explained. “If only that lawyer just gave me the name before he started spouting nonsense…” he released a frustrated exhale.

“‘ _Nonsense_ ’, is it?” Christophe questioned in amusement. “You mean to tell me that you actually  _didn’t_ have anyone waiting to slit his throat in prison?”

“Irrelevant,” Viktor said in dismissal. “The point is that his little spectacle just made things a little more difficult for me. I could be finished here within a few days if he just gave me the name I needed.”

Christophe hummed from the other side of the phone. “I suppose so but what’s the rush, anyway? You, at the very least, seem to be enjoying your time there with that little Officer of yours.”

Viktor paused at the mention of Officer Katsuki. 

Truth be told, it had been more amusing than anything else to have a member of the task force ensuring his well-being. It was even more entertaining to know exactly how lost the police had become in the trail of bloodshed he had left in his wake, never mind how short-lived his amusement had been due to the frustration of the slow pace his self-assigned task was having.

But _enjoying_ his time with Officer Katsuki?

Yes, Viktor supposed he was. Yuuri’s company was definitely a distraction he had come to welcome in his short time in Detroit. Their conversations were rather pleasant, fascinating more often than not and any silence between them had even become comfortable.

“You’re day-dreaming about him right now, aren’t you?” 

Viktor tapped a finger to his lips, glancing at the doorway to the kitchen.

“He’s a good cook,” he remarked absently, remembering the home-cooked meal the Officer had prepared.

He sighed at the responding silence, the image of the way Christophe’s eyebrows would have shot up at the comment immediately making him wish he hadn’t voiced it out in the first place.

“Is that so?” the other alpha asked, tone laced with barely-concealed delight. “Huh. A pair of pretty eyes and a very pretty face. Tough. Definitely able to hold his own in difficult situations,” he listed, reciting all the things Viktor had told him about the Officer in their previous conversations. “And now, also apparently a good cook. My, my Viktor,” Christophe chuckled, “sounds like your Officer’s slowly ticking everything in that mental ‘My mate to-be must have and must be’ list of yours. Maybe the Nikiforov line really isn’t going to end with you, after all. Yakov’s going to be relieved.”

“…Don’t be ridiculous, Chris.”

While it was true that Yuuri was more than ideal in that aspect, -much, much more than ideal- Viktor didn’t have time to purse a dead-end romance with a beta, even if his traditional, overtly fastidious desires when it came to picking a mate resigned him to a long, highly possible endless wait.

It didn’t matter how attractive and appealing Officer Katsuki was.

“Me? Ridiculous? Never!” Christophe laughed. “You’re the one with a vendetta against having a beta for a mate.”

Viktor rolled his eyes. “I don’t have a vendetta with that. I’d simply prefer an omega for myself.”

“Uhuh. And you didn’t consider any of those precious omegas in the past who practically salivated at the sight of you as choices?”

“Of course not,” Viktor scoffed. He found those particular ones a little pathetic, actually. “Simply being an omega isn’t enough to catch my attention, Chris, you know that.”

“Right. You don’t want _easy_ ,” Christophe heaved a sigh. “The Nikiforov line really is doomed.”

There was a light thud from the other end of the phone, presumably Christophe falling back on his bed to stare at the ceiling in defeat. Viktor didn’t really understand what the fuss was about. As much as he’d like to find a mate someday, _should_ the scenario arise that he didn’t, the Plisetsky line would do just fine as his successor, if the way his cousin Yuri was already growing up to be like was any indication.

“Hey Viktor,” Christophe called out pensively, “you said your Officer wore scent-blockers, right?”

“Yes…?” Viktor answered uncertainly, not bothering to correct Christophe’s continuous ‘your Officer’ remark.

“Have you ever asked him why?”

Viktor’s brows furrowed. “No. Why would I?”

“Well,” Christophe drawled out, “scent-blockers are usually used by alphas and omegas, right? Mostly to cancel out the pheromones of their pre-rut or pre-heat,” he said. “You said your Officer wasn’t an alpha but… it’s just a little peculiar for a beta to wear scent-blockers, don’t you think?”

Dead stillness fell upon the two of them.

Viktor thought the question through three times before answering.

“Don’t put impossible theories in my head, Chris,” he muttered out. “I have enough to think about.” He glared at the wall. “Officer Katsuki’s a beta,” he said firmly, refusing to even start entertaining the idea of Yuuri being anything _else_ but a beta.

“And you’re sure about that, Viktor? One hundred percent beta?”

“Yes,” Viktor automatically responded before pausing. He stared at the glass table in-front of him. He never really confirmed with Yuuri, did he? “…No."

“Huh, I see...” the other alpha mused.

Viktor’s mouth dipped down in a frown. “He can’t be anything else but a beta, Chris.”

Christophe’s chuckle echoed at the other end of the phone. “Keep telling yourself that, Viktor,” he chided in that very same tone he knew Viktor absolutely detested – the very one that, more often than not, meant that Christophe was right about something in some way or another.

“Whatever, Chris,” was all the reply Viktor could give. “I’m going to bed.”

“Sure, sure,” Chris waved off, the amused smile on his face practically audible from his voice. “Not going to go and think about a certain Officer of yours with pretty brown eyes, right?”

Viktor pressed the end-call button without another word, not having the energy or patience to banter with Christophe.

He got up from the sofa, tossing the phone on the armchair before walking over to the balcony. 

He spent the rest of his evening staring into the darkness of the city skyline, basking in his own silence just as he always did every other night – both in his time in Detroit and back home in Russia. His bed remained untouched, cold and empty of any occupant until the break of dawn when Viktor finally allowed himself to fall on the mattress and rest.

The first flicker of sunshine glinted from the horizon, the blinding gold flecks of the rising sun not at all that different from the dusts of gold specks which always seemed to reflect in Yuuri’s eyes.

* * *

  
Yuuri absently swirled the mug of coffee in his hand as he continued to listen to Viktor speak.

The days following the unfortunate incident with the lawyer had blurred together, feeling like so much time had passed when in reality, it had only been a few weeks.

The topic of the Pakhan never came back up after their initial conversation about him and Yuuri had been adamant about bringing the subject back up again in case Viktor had decided that he’d rather not talk about that aspect of his past anymore. If the stories were grim memories the omega suspected them to be, then who was he to try and force them out? 

And so instead of learning more about the Pakhan in the following weeks, Yuuri had ended up learning more about Viktor instead.

He learned that Viktor took over his family’s business at the tender age of 16, having been raised by an uncle of sorts, a man named Yakov Feltsman _-a strict man, he is. Intimidating if you don’t know him_ \- following his parents’ untimely death. He learned that Viktor had a younger cousin who shared his first name - _the English spelling only has one ‘u’. He’s a bit of a fireball. I’d blame teenage hormones but he’s always been a rascal_ \- and that Viktor had a pet dog _-her name’s Makkachin. She’s a sweet little thing_ \- waiting for him back home in Russia.

Yuuri didn’t mind learning more about Viktor despite the tinge of disappointment he felt towards the older man not revealing anything more about the Bratva or the Pakhan. Their conversations in the past had always seemed to be directed about him and his life in Hasetsu and Detroit anyway and so Yuuri was glad that Viktor was now opening up to him.

Still, hearing Viktor talk about his home and the people he left behind did make the weight of the current situation feel even heavier.

Yuuri hoped Viktor would be able to return to Russia soon.

“I can open some windows or even the balcony door if it’s too hot here, Officer Katsuki.”

Yuuri snapped back to attention. He glanced at the alpha in question, shaking his head only to stop when the motion made him light-headed.

Viktor set down his mug, rising from his seat and opening the balcony door anyway without further prompt.

While he didn’t want to trouble the other man, the fresh air _did_ make him feel better and Yuuri relaxed further into the sofa, giving Viktor a grateful smile as soon as he sat back down.

The tell-tale sign of his upcoming heat was beginning to make itself known, Yuuri noted apprehensively, and it was only a matter of time before he would have to start his annual leave. He was becoming easily tired these days, body feeling a little too warm and his mind floating away without him realising until someone was calling out his name three times in a row. He could probably last two more weeks before he’d have to let his body take its natural course and start his pre-heat. He’d postpone it long enough as it was.

By then, Viktor would hopefully already be safely back in Russia.

The omega tugged at the collar of his shirt in an attempt to cool himself even further, oblivious to both the silence that had descended in the room and the azure eyes watching him in curiosity.

He had picked up a brand-new batch of heat-suppressors from the pharmacy this morning, the dose of these new ones a little stronger than the previous to wade of his incoming heat.

His doctor had initially strongly advised against his request for them during a prior appointment a few days ago, warning him that postponing his scheduled heats could mess with his future cycles but Yuuri had been adamant, insisting that it was a onetime request – that he just needed to finish an urgent case for work. In the end, his doctor had conceded, albeit with ill-hidden disapproval as she reluctantly wrote down the prescription, all the while chastising him about how he shouldn’t strain himself and how bad it would be for his long-term health if he delayed his heat for too long.

The elderly pharmacist with whom Yuuri was very friendly with had said the same thing this morning, giving him a sharp, stern stare as she handed over the small, white paper bag containing the new suppressants.

The only thing the omega could do was smile apologetically and assure the elderly pharmacist that this was ‘ _definitely temporary’_ and that he’d be _‘back to the normal routine after this one. I have this case I need to finish for work, you see’_ whilst he stuffed the receipt into his blazer pocket, giving her a final wave as he dashed away in an attempt to get to Viktor’s apartment on time.

Yuuri whole-heartedly intended to keep his word about starting his scheduled leave within the next two weeks. His doctor had only prescribed enough suppressants to last for a maximum of 14 days anyway and if that wasn’t enough to force him take his annual leave, he was sure Phichit’s and Celestino’s constant nagging definitely would be.

 _‘It’s not even that warm and you’re sweating! That’s it, I’m telling Celestino!’_ He could almost hear Phichit screeching against his ear again. ‘ _Don’t ‘Phichit’_ _me, Yuuri! What’s going to happen to you if you start leaking pheromones all over the place?!’_

As dramatic as Phichit could be sometimes, it was true that the scent-blockers’ effects were weaning off, would soon be unable to hide his scent completely now that he was so close to his pre-heat which had been another one of the main reasons as to why Yuuri needed those new heat-suppressants in the first place. His scent wasn’t detectable enough to arouse any questions yet and he had always, always been careful never to let it get that far in the past. At best, the only way someone would be able to smell his scent right now was if they were to press their face right against his neck.

A sudden vibration racked up his thighs and Yuuri jolted from his seat with a sharp inhale, eyes widening in shock.

The forgotten cup of coffee wobbled in his hand dangerously, tilting back at the sudden movement and Yuuri flinched when the now room-temperature coffee splattered on him.

The ominous silence that had descended the room for some time finally made itself known, two pairs of eyes watching the dark stain slowly spreading on the omega’s shirt and blazer.

The phone in his trouser pocket continued to vibrate and Yuuri let out a groan of frustration, feeling the heat of embarrassment rising to his cheeks.

_‘Goddammit…’_

“Are you okay?”

The omega glanced up, meeting Viktor’s questioning stare with an exhausted one.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he assured the other man, taking the tissue being offered to him and patting at his ruined shirt and blazer to no avail.

_‘Great. Just great. Was I zoning out that much?’_

He sighed, glancing at the wet splatter staining the carpet.

“I’m sorry,” he apologised. “I’ll clean that up.”

Viktor shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, Officer Katsuki. Take care of yourself first.”

Yuuri continued to dab at his soiled clothes, internally cursing who it was that had been calling him. He bet it was Phichit.

He glanced at the clock, finding it to be already past noon – definitely time to leave and head back to the station. There’d be no time to make a quick trip home to get changed.

Yuuri let out a heavy exhale, resigning himself to walking around all day in a damp shirt and blazer that would soon smell like dried, old coffee.

“I can wash those for you if you’d like, Officer Katsuki.”

Yuuri blinked, glancing up at Viktor in question who gave him a small shrug in return.

“I’m sure I have a spare shirt and blazer somewhere that you can use.”

He contemplated the offer with a thoughtful expression, debating with himself for a long while before finally giving a hesitant ‘ _Are you sure?’_ , the prospect of not having to trudge around headquarters in this sodden, pitiful state ultimately winning out over the shame of being an inconvenience to the other man. 

He already felt so tired.

Viktor nodded, getting up from his seat and walking towards his bedroom. “You can give my clothes back tomorrow when you drop by.”

After some reluctance and some further assurance, Yuuri accepted the clean set of clothes he was ultimately provided with, making his way to the bathroom to change. He instantly felt better once the damp shirt and blazer that had been clinging to his torso was peeled off. As expected, Viktor’s clothes were far too big, the shoulders too broad and the sleeves too long. Yuuri couldn’t complain, not when Viktor had been generous enough to give him an escape from greeting his colleagues with damp, stained clothes.

He studied the sophisticatedly tailored threading of Viktor’s clothes, wondering what brand they were and how much they could have possibly costed. These looked like Armani quality. It was best not to check in case it made him feel even more guilty.

“Better, Officer Katsuki?” The alpha asked as soon as Yuuri exited the bathroom.

Yuuri tilted his head forward, smiling gratefully. “Yes. Thank you so much.”

“No problem,” the older man said. “Not staying for lunch today?” He asked, eyeing the way Yuuri was gathering his things from the living room.

Yuuri shook his head. “No, not today. I told headquarters I’ll be there before 12.”

“Then lunch tomorrow, perhaps?”

Yuuri thought that through for a second before agreeing. The least he could do for Viktor after this was sit down with him for a meal. They didn’t do it often enough, anyway.

“Great. Any specific request, Officer Katsuki?”

“Whatever you feel like,” Yuuri said. He adjusted the cuffs of the new, black blazer he was wearing, folding the long sleeves back a couple of times. “Also…” he added thoughtfully, “I know you’ve been saying the same thing to me all this time but,” he smiled up at Viktor, “please, call me Yuuri.”

* * *

  
Viktor crouched on the bathroom floor, stuffing the sullied white shirt into the washing machine with more aggression than necessary. He really needed to stop wasting his time lumbering around like this.

_‘What the hell am I doing?’_

He’d already spent too much time with Yuuri as it was. Civilised distance, close enough that Viktor could keep an eye on the law enforcement here without attracting any suspicion but far enough that he could actually get some damn work done, was what he had been aiming for.

And yet here he was, getting more and more side-tracked each day. Offering to _wash_ _clothes_ , for goodness sake!

He didn’t know who he was more frustrated with – at Christophe for that  _stupid_ notion he had proposed which Viktor couldn’t purge from his head, at that goddamn Mole for pulling him to Detroit or at _himself_ for getting so easily distracted.

_‘Not good. I need to focus.’_

Perhaps it was Yuuri’s fault for being so damn distracting in the first place.

Despite his frustration, Viktor laid out the younger man’s blazer on his bent knees, doing what he deemed to be an utterly pointless task simply because he had told the Officer he would do so. He patted the pockets impatiently, knowing very well he could be doing something else entirely, something else far more useful than searching the pockets of a blazer that wasn’t even his own for any forgotten contents.

The alpha paused, feeling the tell-tale sign of scrunched paper in one of the inner pockets. He sighed. _‘Probably just a receipt of some sort…’_

Viktor pulled the small piece of paper out, finding one of the corners stained brown with spilled coffee as he smoothened it out, intending to skim through it in-case it was something Yuuri needed to be returned to him.

He stared at the paper on his hand, becoming confused at what appeared to be some sort of medical receipt, mind not quite registering what he was reading even as his eyes continued to run over the words _‘Class S Emergency Heat-Suppressants’_ again and again.

Only when his gaze landed on the ‘ _Recipient: Yuuri Katsuki’_ at the bottom of the wrinkled paper did his blood freeze in his veins.

Viktor stared at the ‘ _Omega_ ’ innocently printed right beneath Yuuri’s name.

_‘…What?’_

He read that particular word over and over, face carefully blank even whilst his heartbeat began to accelerate.

_‘What.’_

Carefully setting the piece of paper down on the cold, tiled floor, the alpha reached for the forgotten blazer on his lap. He stared at it in uncertainty before slowly bringing the neckline to his face, taking a slow, deep inhale at the place where the back of Yuuri’s neck would have been rubbing against - where any trace of a scent that would have escaped the scent-blockers would be detected.

His fingertips trembled, stomach giving in abrupt twist.

It was there.

Beneath the stale smell of spilled coffee, it was there.

Unnoticeable if one hadn’t been trying to sniff for something but it was _there_ – the unmistakable, foretelling scent underlying Yuuri’s own unique one, the blend so subtle but so sweet, so alluring and true, screaming exactly what Yuuri was.

Omega.

Yuuri was an  _omega._

Viktor stuffed the blazer into the washing machine vacantly, turning the settings on before slowly standing from his crouched position on the floor.

He washed his face with cold water, blank stare not seeing how completely dilated his pupils had become in his reflection.

_Yuuri was an omega._

He entered his bedroom on stiff legs, heartbeat thudding like war drums in his ears as he leaned his back against the closed door, unfocused eyes landing on the bed, his surroundings becoming temporarily muted and blurred.

_‘That scent…’_

A growl ripped through Viktor’s throat as heat began to pool between his thighs, the fresh memory of Yuuri’s too-faint scent propelling his body on overdrive.

_‘That fucking scent…’_

The sound of tearing fabric sliced through the stillness in the room as Viktor stripped himself of his clothes, uncaring for the ripped trousers thrown carelessly on the floor. He fell into bed, senses returning with overwhelming sharpness.

His skin prickled, the sheer thought of Officer Katsuki -Yuuri. Yuuri _Yuuri_ \- being exactly what Viktor had vehemently denied him to be making his cock throb almost painfully.

_‘Of course…’_

Viktor had come across omegas in the past, had easily been able to brush passed them without a second glance despite how alluring their scents might have been. There had been no one, _no one_ , who had made his cock throb so suddenly, so quickly, no one who had made flames surged through his veins like wildfire by their _fucking scent_ alone.

Viktor gripped the base of his length, hissing at how hypersensitive the single touch felt.

But _this_ , a dark part of his mind whispered, would be  _nothing_ compared to how Yuuri would feel beneath him -absolutely _nothing_ compared to how it would feel to be inside him.

 _Hot. And wet. And just so fucking_ tight _-_

Viktor’s eyes clenched shut with a snarl, his primitive side that had been lying dormant and waiting all these years roaring into consciousness, now wide awake and prowling. Restless and impatient. _W_ _anting_.

_‘Of course.’_

Viktor pumped himself erratically, hell-bent on finishing as quick as he could.

The alpha’s jaw clenched hard enough that his teeth gyrated together, the molten heat winding in his core continuing to coil tighter and tighter, stomach already tensing with how close he was to the edge.

_So fucking close. How the fuck was he already so close?-_

The memory of soft, brown eyes flashed behind Viktor’s eyelids and the alpha groaned, hand working faster and faster along his thick length as the fantasies he had tried to suppress regarding the Officer was finally allowed to come to life.

_The heat of Yuuri's body under him, writhing and squirming. The sound of his voice saying Viktor’s name, breathless whilst he begged and begged and begged-_

Another snarl ripped through the alpha’s throat, muscles tensing at the imaginary grip of strong thighs around his waist, almost feeling the lithe arms that would encircle his neck, almost hearing the lewd, filthy sounds that would echo around the room. His cock pulsed, the engorged tip leaking more pre-come at the thought of the sinful, velvet heat that would be forced to accept everything Viktor had to give.

Yuuri would fight.

Viktor knew Yuuri would fight. Yuuri would punch and kick and shout, would claw and bite and do everything he could to get away.

And Viktor would allow some of it. He’d let it all play out at first, would relish every second of Yuuri’s defiance with heated pleasure, would savour the chase and the thrill of the hunt.

But he wouldn’t let Yuuri go.

He’d pin the omega down - _omega. Yuuri was a_ goddamn omega- and smother him with his own, dominating scent, would cage Yuuri under him and refuse to let go - _never let him go._ _Never. He’s mine now. Mine_ – and then he would fuck Yuuri into submission until Yuuri was a beautiful, whimpering mess impaled on his throbbing knot. 

Viktor wondered if he’d be able to start slow, if he’d be able to worship every inch of Yuuri’s body with his mouth and hands before he’d allow himself to succumb to a fiery, raging haze akin to a rut. Maybe he’d lose control from the very start and fuck into Yuuri without care the moment he’d manage to force those delectable thighs apart for him.  

It didn't matter. Either scenario would end the same.

_His come trickling down Yuuri’s thighs, his claiming mark bleeding on Yuuri’s neck-_

Viktor panted heavily, grip tightening as he continued to stroke himself with abandon, feeling ready to combust, seeing the soft, pale skin of Yuuri’s neck just practically  _begging_ to be marked behind his clenched eyes. And oh, how Viktor would mark him with a spectral of bruises using his tongue and his lips, how he would sink his teeth in the crevice of Yuuri’s neck in a triumphant claim so that rest of the fucking world would be able to see the indents of Viktor’s mating mark, would be able to see the undeniable proof that Yuuri was his _his **his**_ -

Viktor groaned, vision exploding to white.

Jets of come spurted from his twitching cock, the blinding pleasure overwhelming his senses as he lost himself to the numbing pleasure racking his entire frame.

He gave a few more weak strokes along his length, riding out the last traces of his orgasm before the oversensitivity became too much and he stopped with a slight tremor.

Viktor panted harshly, eyes still shut closed and limbs feeling buzzed.

When was the last time he came that hard?  He couldn’t even remember.

The alpha took one deep breath in an attempt to control his erratic breathing, cerulean eyes slowly opening.

_‘Yuuri Katsuki, huh…’_

His gaze landed on his come-covered hand, eyes darkening as a fresh wave of raw desire crawled down his spine at the flashing memory of pretty brown eyes and soft, pink lips.

The corner of Viktor’s mouth twitched up.

_‘No. Not for long.’_

Not for long indeed.

After all, Yuuri Nikiforov sounded a lot better to his ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I haven't written any form of smut for a long, long time. How obvious is it?) 
> 
> I’m still here, I’m still here T__T A thousand apologies for the wait and a thousand thank yous for the patience T__T 
> 
> Honestly, I had a good chunk of this ready for some time but I just couldn't go back to edit and post because my other fic hadn't been updated in sooo long! 
> 
> Hope this chapter was alright though! I'm gonna go back to do some minor edits later but if I don't post this one now, it's gonna get delayed even more so here you are! 'Til next time!


	4. Crepuscule

* * *

Viktor was watching him. Again.

Yuuri chewed on his bottom lip absently, twirling the long ribbon of pasta with his fork and purposely not looking up from his plate, not daring to confirm if Viktor really was watching the delicate flicks of his wrist with the same intensity that seemed to follow Yuuri’s every move for the last few days. The omega brought the roll of pasta to his mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing. His gaze finally flickered to the side to its own accord, finding Viktor’s plate almost untouched.

“…are you okay?” he asked.

Viktor snapped out of whatever stupor he had been in, glancing down at his full plate before nodding. He picked up the fork and began to eat again. 

“Is it not any good?” Yuuri asked.

 “Of course it is, Officer Katsuki,” the older man said after the first swallow.

Yuuri wanted to sigh at the fact that Viktor, being the ever so well-mannered person he was, still continued to call him _‘Officer Katsuki’_.

“I doubt your cooking is capable of being anything less than delicious,” Viktor continued with a polite smile.

His gaze was soft again, the sharp edge to his stare absent like it had never been there in the first place.

The tension in Yuuri’s shoulders dissipated.

 _‘Maybe the stress of being here is finally getting to him, Phichit,’_ was what he had told the other officer when he first started to notice the slight change in Viktor’s behaviour. The alpha had become a little quieter, his eyes boring into Yuuri so intensely at times that it felt like he was looking right into his soul. It was a penetrating gaze, one that made Yuuri want to squirm where he was, particularly because he couldn’t make any sense of it. In the end, he had ended up attributing the behaviour to the alpha simply being tired and zoning out.

“I apologise if I’ve been making you uncomfortable, Officer Katsuki,” Viktor said and Yuuri paused mid-chew, marvelling over how Viktor just seemed to know exactly what was running around his head at times like this. “I know I’ve been a little distracted lately. I’ve just been thinking of home, that’s all.”

Yuuri frowned, setting his fork down and giving the other man his full attention.

“Have you changed your mind about contacting anyone from Russia?” he asked. “I can still set up a call for you if you want. I know you said you don’t have a family back home but it doesn’t have to be a relative. Do you have, um… _someone_ waiting for you?” Yuuri cleared his throat, aware of the slight reddening of his cheeks. Conversations regarding anything to do with lovers and significant others never did fail to make him marginally uncomfortable. “Like a partner perhaps? You can still contact them. Like I said before, we’re just going to have to monitor your conversations, that’s all.”

Viktor stared at him for a long, long while.

“No, Officer Katsuki,” the alpha finally said with a small shake of his head. “I don’t have anyone like that back home. Not yet.”

“Oh.”

Yuuri picked up his fork again after a beat of silence, finding that particular information a little surprising. He was so sure an alpha of Viktor’s calibre was the type to never have an empty bed, be it occupied with a temporary one-night lover or a more long-term one.

“What about you? Any lucky special someone in your life right now?”

Yuuri pushed a twirl of pasta around his plate. “No,” he answered, failing to notice the heated spark in Viktor’s stare. “That’s never really been a big focus in my life.”

“Oh?” Viktor chewed another mouthful of pasta. “Why not? I’d find it difficult to believe that you of all people don’t have a row of admirers.”

Despite himself, Yuuri’s lips twitched up at the not-so hidden compliment. It was true. Even back in elementary school in Japan, there’d always been a classmate or two offering him some sort of dessert during lunchtime. At some point in junior high school, Mari had convinced him to stop feeling guilty about rejecting every single approach, telling him that if he had preferred to be given books- which no one ever offered- instead of strongly scented flowers and overly expensive chocolate, then who were these people to get upset by his polite rejection of their unwanted gifts?

Yuuri doubted any of them had known he’d have preferred to be given books.

He never let anybody that had an intention of being more than a friend know him like that.

“My admirers aren’t too smart about their approach.”

“Is that so?” Viktor leaned forward in interest. “And what are these admirers doing wrong?”

Yuuri slowly coiled the last string of pasta around his fork, getting pulled into the conversation like he always did. “Assuming I’m set out for that white picket-fence lifestyle.”

Viktor lifted an eyebrow. “The thought of settling down someday doesn’t appeal to you?”

Yuuri pursed his lips.

As an omega, finding a suitable alpha and starting a family of his own was what was generally expected of him. The thought was nice, somewhat. He supposed perhaps in the far-off future it could be a possibility but at his current age, finding a mate was not one of his priorities. The prospect of him being surrounded by cherub-faced children beside a loving mate was probably more pleasing to his parents than himself.

Yuuri still couldn’t find it within himself to tell them that he wouldn’t be too upset if he never settled down with anyone, that the idea of living his life so independently was something he actually preferred.

“Not really. I’m quite happy with how things are going for me.”

“You’re still young, Officer Katsuki. There’s plenty of time to change your mind and find a lover.”

Yuuri shook his head, smiling softly. “I think I’d be better off without a mate. I’m too invested in my career to give attention to any advances.”

Viktor tapped his fork against his empty plate before dropping the cutlery altogether. He leaned back against his seat, resting an elbow against the armrest as he regarded Yuuri with an unfathomable expression akin to the one that made Yuuri fidget.

“…that’s a shame,” the alpha eventually said, almost sounding disappointed. Yuuri’s ears burned but before he could have the chance to ask for an elaboration, the foretelling vibration of his phone ringing racked up his thighs. He fished his phone from his pocket with a frown, knowing he told headquarters that he’d be back late in the afternoon. It wasn’t even 1PM yet.

He instantly became alert, however, once he realised who was calling him. Not wasting another second, Yuuri immediately pressed the answer button.

“Hel-”

“Yuuri,” Celestino’s voice interrupted from the other end, rough and urgent. “I need you back here. Now. We have a 10-35.”

 

* * *

  
“What have you done, boy?!”

Viktor picked under his nails, tutting quietly to himself at the small amount of dried blood still caked underneath his fingernails that wouldn’t wash off no matter how many times he rinsed his hands with soap. 

“We thoroughly discussed keeping under the radar before you left, didn’t we? This massacre is not under the radar, Viktor!”

Viktor craned his neck side to side, letting Yakov’s exasperated bellowing ring out from the other side of the phone currently pressed against his ear.

 “-didn’t even try to hide your tracks at all-”

Really, their first conversation since he left Russia and this was what he was getting as a greeting. Not even a simple hello.

“-whole world _knows_ it’s the Bratva-”

Viktor rolled his eyes. Of course, they did. It was all over the news. He made sure it was all over the news. Viktor remained silent, wisely deciding to keep quiet, knowing Yakov’s steam will eventually die down once he wore himself out.

“-rival gangs are aware that there’s implications of the Pakhan being in Detroit, Viktor-”

Viktor internally sighed, leaning away from the phone in an attempt spare himself from the lecture he was currently getting. His head lolled back against the headboard in defeat when the distance did nothing to lower Yakov’s volume.

“-and with the authorities there also hunting you down? No, I will  _not_ let you take that risk-”

Viktor’s eyes narrowed. ‘ _Let them,_ ’ he didn’t say, feeling a prickle of irritation at the possible threat Yakov was talking about. ‘ _Let them come at me. We all know how that would end_.’ 

He’d have thought the brutal scene he left behind the previous night would be enough of a vicious demonstration of what happened to those who dared to spark his ire. If other mob groups and the authorities were too thick-headed to heed the warning then their demise would be entirely their mistake.

“You’ve done what you needed to do, Viktor. Come home. Come home _now._ Mila will see to it that you’re back here in the next two da-”

“No.”

“ _‘No’_?” Yakov asked impatiently. “What do you mean ‘ _no_ ’?”

“I’m not going back,” Viktor said flatly. “Not yet.”

He could hear Yakov release a sharp, frustrated exhale from the other side at how evasive Viktor was purposely being, the elder man no doubt trying to reign control of his temper.

“And why not?” Yakov asked with a strain. “Your so-called Mole and his associates are dead.” Viktor’s mouth tilted up. Slaughtered would have been a better description. It’d take the authorities days to decipher exactly how many traitors Viktor had thrown in that room to be butchered like the swine they were. “There’s nothing left for you there.”

Viktor contemplated the question for a second, thinking about the best way to explain his predicament without aggravating his mentor any further.

“We discussed _careful_ , Viktor,” Yakov began once again in frustration when the younger alpha failed to respond. “You told Mila you wouldn’t hunt those people on that lawyer’s list directly yourself and yet here you are, being more reckless than you usually are, literally knee-deep in blood on foreign land all alone! What goddamn reason could you possibly have to suddenly lash out so carelessly like th-”

“I found someone,” Viktor interrupted swiftly. “Someone I want to keep.”  

Static silence met his answer and Viktor waited patiently for Yakov to process the gravity of what he was saying.

“…Okay,” Yakov began carefully, all traces of his earlier agitation wiped away. “Okay.” There was a creak on the other end, of Yakov shifting in his chair and sitting more upright, perhaps. “Keep in what way, exactly? As a recruit?” his mentor asked cautiously.

“No,” Viktor said. “I want him. With me.”

Want. Hah.

Want had become an understatement these days. He yearned to embed his scent in Yuuri’s own, longed to have Yuuri look at him and only him, craved to have Yuuri by him, under him, and the more Viktor restrained himself, the more his hands burned with the need to touch.

He  _ached_ for Yuuri.

“And who is this ‘him’ that’s caught your attention so suddenly?”

Truth be told, it wasn’t quite so sudden. Yuuri had Viktor’s attention the moment he had walked in the room, head high and shoulders squared, delicate face morphed into a mask of professionalism and his scent undetectable beneath a thick layer of scent-blockers.

“His name’s Yuuri Katsuki,” Viktor said. “He’s 22 years old. Japanese. An omega.”

Soft, smooth skin, hypnotising eyes and scent like no other he had ever come across, Viktor didn’t add.

But “He’s the Officer assigned to me,” Viktor _did_ add offhandedly because _that_ was a very important piece of information Yakov probably needed to know.

The sound of the chair toppling over in the background reached his ears and Viktor sighed, distancing the phone away from his ear once again.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Yakov’s voice thundered through the speaker, followed by some colourful curses Viktor didn’t care to catch.

He knew the last piece of information regarding Yuuri’s second gender had probably shocked some bewilderment into Yakov. With how Viktor had always acted, no one really thought there’d be an omega worthy enough to catch his interest.

Yakov, being the harsh, realistic man that he was, had never been particularly quiet about his thoughts on how miniscule the chances are of Viktor finding the mate he’d dreamed of and Viktor had grown up with the constant reminder that he could very well spend the rest of his life alone if he continued to wait for his ideal mate that he would most likely never meet. Viktor had never let any of it phase him, had even agreed with it all because it had all been true – he’d accepted that he indeed would likely never encounter anyone worthy enough to be his mate.

And yet here was Yuuri.

“ _Viktor_ ,” Yakov almost pleaded in exasperation. “Listen to yourself. A Detroit _police officer_? Never mind that he’s an omega but a _police officer_?”

“Yes,” Viktor said. Being a police officer had probably been one of the key attributes which had further cemented his attraction to Yuuri in the first place.

“You can’t force him here and expect no retribution from their end!” Yakov continued in incredulity. “I know there’s been pressure on you about finding a mate but this is-” his mentor released a heavy exhale. “If it’s an omega you want, we’ll find you as many eligible ones as we can and you can choose from them, yes?” Viktor rolled his eyes at the ludicrous suggestion. Yakov could round up as many omegas as he wanted, males or females. None of it mattered. He already made his mind up and Yakov seemed to sense that too, judging by the increasing desperation in his voice. “But please, of all people, just- just not this one. A _police officer_ , Viktor, for goodness sa-”

“I’m not asking you or anyone else for permission, Yakov,” Viktor interrupted, bull-headed and tenacious as he’d ever been. 

There was some shifting from the other end of the phone followed by a small thud as Yakov slumped down on his chair once more.

“…Is he aware of exactly who you are?” the elder man asked in resignation, massaging his temple tiredly with a long, defeated sigh, having no other option but to concede. “Does he know how you live? Of what you really do?”

“Of course not,” Viktor scoffed. “He’d have wrestled me to the ground and dragged me behind bars himself by now if he knew,” he said, a little bit more smugness seeping out of his voice than he intended.

“And you think he’ll bare his neck to you and let you take him here without a fight? That he’d let you steal him away from his life?”

“I won’t give him a choice.”

“Viktor _,_ you _need_ to think this through,” Yakov gritted out.

“I _have_ ,” the younger alpha snapped back. “I _want_ him.” His tone was absolute and the slight growl in his words was enough of a warning that Yakov could only release another tired, drawn out sigh.

Despite Yakov’s blatant show of disapproval, Viktor knew his mentor still had an inkling of pride stirring in his chest at the fact that he had been able to raise Viktor to become someone so, for the lack of a better description, formidable. It was one of those unspoken things neither of them would address until one of them was on their death-bed.

“I’m sending Georgi over to Detroit to sort your case out,” Yakov said wearily. “He’ll deal with the legalities and the formalities of your return while you… do whatever it is you need to do.”

Viktor made a sound of approval.

There was another thoughtful pause at the other end.

“…Do you plan to bring him here bonded?”

Viktor considered the question carefully.

“Yes.”  

“And how do you plan to go about that? An omega needs to be in heat to be bonded, Viktor.”

Viktor leaned back against the headboards, eyes darkening.

“…I need you to make some arrangements with Christophe about a new potential merchandise,” he said after a moment of thought. “I want the borders here, in Moscow and in Miami to open up for a trial import with the Milieu.”

* * *

  
“Mandatory leave from today? Why?” 

Yuuri ran a hand through his hair, brushing back the unruly black strands that fell across his forehead.

“I’m supposed to take this leave in two weeks’ time but due to…recent events, I’m required to take this now so that I can return to work as soon as possible.”

Celestino’s request that he take his annual leave for work straight away had been earnest, almost desperate and Yuuri could only agree, wide eyes still trained on the haphazardly put-presentation at the front of the conference room which his superior had used the day before in an emergency meeting with all the available officers.

‘ _Crazy_ ,’ was the only thing Phichit could whisper to him during Celestino’s talk. ‘ _This is crazy_.’

The snapshots of the hours-old crime scene had been chilling, the specifics detailing it all even more so. Nothing Yuuri could have done would have been enough to prepare him for how meticulously morbid it had all looked, the macabre scene of red still imprinted behind his eyelids no matter how many times he rubbed his eyes.

He had known immediately when he saw Celestino’s name on the caller ID yesterday that something was very, very wrong.

“Recent events? You mean that massacre in Collingwood Avenue?” Viktor asked.

Yuuri shifted on his chair, folding his fingers neatly on his lap.

“Yes,” the omega said, deciding to be up-front about the situation. Viktor was in the dark about so many things already. “I’m sure you’ve been keeping up with the news. Like the media is saying, this is likely to be the work of the Bratva. The gang-war they were having with other mob groups seems to have reached its peak and this recent massacre appears to be their finale.”

Yuuri stared at the glass table in-front of him, eyeing his distorted reflection.

“You’ll be okay,” he assured the other man. “The Russian Federation’s finally looked at your case yesterday, luckily enough. You’ve been given the green light to go back home.” He attempted to give Viktor a weak smile, trying to lighten the strangely sombre atmosphere with some good news. “A representative of the St. Petersburg Police Department from Russia is on their way here as we speak. I can’t quite remember his name. George? Georgio?” he shook his head. “Ah, you’ll meet him tomorrow, anyhow. After today, he’s going to take my place and look after you while all the paperwork is sorted out. He’s quite familiar with Detroit, I believe.”

Yuuri’s smile dwindled when the alpha didn’t seem the slight bit pleased, or surprised for that matter, with the latest development of his case.

He couldn’t understand why Viktor looked so… dismayed. As abrupt as this dismissal was, they had both known their separation was inevitable. Viktor would have realised something major was happening when Yuuri hadn’t shown up today at the routine time he usually did.

 _‘Celestino’s going to assign you to lead this case once you come back. The whole station knows it,’_ Phichit had grinned at him from ear-to-ear this morning when he had popped into headquarters to finalise the loose ends regarding Viktor’s case. If it had all gone according to plan, Yuuri would be working in unison with this Russian officer once he arrived but in light of the recent unforeseen event, the omega had no choice but to step down and take his leave, trusting headquarters to handle Viktor’s situation accordingly. ‘ _So, you better rest and come back ready to tackle this, Yuuri. You don’t have any plans to snoop around the crime scene after giving Mr. Nikiforov your last regards, do you?’_

Yuuri had rolled his eyes, giving his best-friend an exasperated _‘Of course not, Phichit. I’m going straight home after saying my goodbyes.’_ He wasn’t going to jeopardise a future role in this case, no matter how much he wanted to go around and investigate on his own.  _‘I’ll be in my apartment before 6. And yes, I promise to stay home starting from today. No solo stakeout at any point of my leave, even if I’m feeling 100% better,’_ he had added upon spotting the squinted look Phichit was regarding him with.

' _Excellent! No need for me and Celestino to grow any grey hairs worrying about you while you’re gone, then! I’ll see you in two weeks, Yuuri!’_ was the last thing Phichit had said to him before sending him off from headquarters.

Yuuri knew that would be the last he will hear from Phichit or anyone else from work until he returned from his heat-leave.

He would be leaving the department in a state of chaos and confusion, particularly as there were no actual, solid leads regarding the perpetrator of the massacre but as much as he was burning to stay on duty and work on the case through and through, he also knew starting his heat now would only mean he can return to the front-line faster.

Tonight, he would stop taking his suppressants and hopefully with how long he’d been postponing his cycle, his heat would come sooner rather than later.

“So, you’re dismissed from my case, then? Just like that?” Viktor inched forward, brows tightly knit together. “This is supposed to be your goodbye?”

Yuuri stared up at the older man.

“Yes,” he replied softly. “I started my leave today, actually. Another officer was supposed to brief you about all of this but I decided it was best that I do it.” He offered another thin smile. “You’ve been good to me and I didn’t want to disappear from you so suddenly without an explanation from my behalf.”

He watched the growing conflict in Viktor’s eyes, faintly confused at the rapid flickers of emotions he couldn’t identify. Finally, the alpha’s eyes settled on a cold, hardened glaze, one that was gone as soon as it came, leaving Yuuri to wonder if he had imagined it in the first place.

Viktor crossed his arms, the white button-up shirt he was wearing doing nothing to hide the flex of his muscles.

“I see.”

Guilt, for whatever reason, churned low at the pit of Yuuri’s stomach, feeling as though he had upset Viktor in some way.

“I know this is quite sudden but it’s good news for you isn’t it? You’re going to go home soon.”

Viktor agreed with a slow nod, looking sceptical. “Mhm…”

Yuuri bit his lip. “Then…why the gloomy expression?”

Viktor regarded him for a few, silent seconds, before releasing a small, sad sigh.

“I thought I’d have more time.”

Yuuri tilted his head to the side in puzzlement. “More time for what?”

But the alpha didn’t answer, only shaking his head before unfolding his arms and rising from his seat. Yuuri watched as he walked towards his bedroom, disappearing inside for a few seconds before re-appearing with something clutched in his hand. He sat back down, tossing something on the glass table and perching his elbows on the armchair, crossing one leg over the other with an ankle resting on his knee.

Yuuri stared at the red pill inside the small, clear zip-lock.

_‘What…?’_

“I never did keep my word on telling you about the Pakhan like I said I would, did I, Officer Katsuki?”

Yuuri slowly looked up, apprehension creeping up his neck upon finding that same, penetrating stare peering deeply back at him.

Whatever brought the topic on, he didn’t know, but just as it always did in the past, the mere mention of _that_ title immediately stole his attention like no other.

He shook his head, biting back the need to tell Viktor to call him by his first name.

“I’m sure there’s plenty of stories out there that other people can tell you about the Pakhan, Officer Katsuki. Rumours on how he looks and how he sounds,” Viktor started, knowing just what to say to keep Yuuri seated where he was. “Which gun he likes to use and what kind of blade he likes to carry with him.” Yuuri leaned forward unconsciously, immediately drawn to the sudden turn of the conversation. “Some of those stories are true, some aren’t. But like I've said before, there’s things I can tell you which are more on the side of fact.” Piercing blue eyes remained unblinking. “Shall I continue, Officer Katsuki? Or do you have to leave now?”

Yuuri’s eyes flickered over to the ticking clock on the wall, the red-pill on the glass table laying momentarily forgotten. 

3PM.

He had time.

 _‘…This wouldn’t count as snooping around,’_ he tried to convince himself. _‘I didn’t go anywhere I wasn’t supposed to.’_

Whatever Viktor had to say probably had nothing to do with the mob massacre in Collingwood Avenue, anyway, would probably just be some general information that would quench his curiosity.

Yuuri glanced back at the alpha, tilting his head forward in a nod.

“You can continue,” he said.

He ignored the unsettling roll of uneasiness at the sight of Viktor’s lips inching upwards, forcing himself to listen intently as the older man began to speak once more.

“The Pakhan’s parents were murdered when he was only a little boy.”

Yuuri didn’t say anything, unsurprised by the information considering the background of the topic of their conversation.

“Killed right in front of him at 8 years old.”

The omega’s thoughts came to a halt, a tinge of dread descending on him, unexplainable and unexpected, when Viktor’s words brought about a sense of familiarity – like what Viktor was saying was something Yuuri had already heard from him before.

_“My parents were killed in-front of me when I was 8 years-old.”_

“He’d been raised by his mentor since then,” Viktor continued and Yuuri tensed, hair at the back of his neck standing on end. “An intimidating man, his mentor is. Strict by all accounts.”

 _“-a strict man, he is. Intimidating if you don’t know him.”_  

“But he raised the boy well enough that the Pakhan had been able to take over the Bratva when he was only 16 years old. Everyone was so sure he wouldn’t last long. That he’d be taken out sooner than later. And yet 10 years down the line, those same people who spat on his parent’s memory are on their knees, baring their throats and begging to be spared, offering whatever they can in exchange for their lives - weapons, people, drugs, territories.”

Open amusement danced in Viktor’s eyes at the deliberate way he was unfolding his story, any traces of the kind warmth that had been there in the past few months completely erased, replaced by a deep intensity that made Yuuri want to hide.

_“Certain people are feared for a reason, Officer Katsuki-”_

“Trade is a very important aspect in the Pakhan’s job, after all, though… I suppose trafficking would be a more appropriate term in this context.”

_"No Officer Katsuki, I haven't worked **with** the Pakhan-"_

Yuuri glanced back down at the still unidentified red-pill sitting innocently on the glass table.

 _“No, sir, you can’t._ ** _He’s_** _her_ _e_ _. He’s actually_ ** _here_ ** _-”_

And just like that, the pieces snapped into place.

Yuuri stood up abruptly with a sharp inhale, brown eyes wide and lips parted in horror at the dawning realisation of exactly who it was seated across from him. 

Viktor released a quiet huff of amusement, legs slowly unfolding. Yuuri's face had slacked, head spinning and mind running as he watched the alpha slowly stand up. Nausea rose in the omega’s throat, their height difference only now becoming distressingly clear as Yuuri craned his head up in an attempt to keep the eye-contact.

_‘All this time, it was you. All this time-’_

“But really, the Pakhan’s not just about guns, blades and blood, Officer Katsuki. He’s a little more transparent than that,” Viktor carried on as though nothing was amiss – as if Yuuri wasn’t slowly backing away towards the door, heartbeat thudding so loud that Viktor must be able to see the erratic rise and fall of his chest. “He’s always had this dream of finding the perfect mate someday. A beautiful, beautiful mate. Someone whose mere scent would be enough to make his instincts go haywire.”

Yuuri froze, blood turning to ice.

“A pretty little omega just for him. Only for him.”

Viktor began to walk forward, gravitating towards Yuuri in a slow, predatory advance.

_‘He knows. He knows-’_

Yuuri’s fists clenched when his back finally hit the door, instinct that had never failed him in the past now screaming at him to run, run,  _run_ -

 _‘How?_ _How did he know?’_

Brown eyes squeezed shut with a flinch when the alpha surged forward, caging the smaller body between his arms and preventing Yuuri from turning to wrench the door open.

“…And you know what the Pakhan plans to do when he finds his perfect little bird?” Viktor asked huskily, the blue in his eyes nothing but a ring around his dilated pupils. Yuuri’s eyes opened blearily only to immediately shift to the side, unable to take the intensity boring into him. “It wouldn’t matter where they would be - it could be in the bedroom, in the kitchen or in the living room. Even outside. Anywhere,” Viktor continued, gripping the younger man’s jaw lightly, unperturbed by the omega’s refusal to directly look at him.

“But once the Pakhan has him, he’d pin his little bird down and claim him right there and then, Officer Katsuki. He’d sink his teeth right _there_ -” Yuuri shrank back when Viktor pressed a finger to the juncture of his neck, fingertip right against the soft patch of skin where a mating mark would be placed. He breathed heavily through his nose, tensing as the finger trailed a lazy path from his collarbone to his chest, the touch light and slow and teasing as it continued further down passed his navel until it reached his lower abdomen, stopping just below his waistband, “-and fill him from the inside right  _here_ -” fear, foreign and suffocating, raced down Yuuri’s spine when Viktor pressed closer, dominating scent overwhelming his nose, “-until his little bird would have no choice but to submit.”

Yuuri’s gaze finally shifted up, limbs remaining agonizingly frozen as the press of the finger disappeared, replaced by a tight grip on his hip.

“I can tell you many, many things about the Pakhan, Officer Katsuki. Everything you and anyone else ever wanted to know. And more.”

Yuuri breathed in deeply, trying to force air into his paralysed lungs.

“But really, there’s no point in _telling_ you about what kind of person the Pakhan is.”

The omega shook his head, shrinking further back at the knowing up-tilt on the alpha’s lips.

“Because, after all, you and I are going to have all the time in the world to get to know each other,” Viktor leaned down, breath hot against his ear, “ _Yuuri_.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HUH. Didn't mean for it to turn like that at the end so suddenly but what the hell, might as well get here sooner rather than later. I had to use that line I put in the summary somewhere so there were go xDD 
> 
> As always, thank you all for the support and I hope this was worth the wait. Feedback is greatly appreciated <3 <3 !! 
> 
> 10-35: Police code for 'major crime alert' in some states I believe (not gonna pretend I know much about that). Also, I know Chris is canonically Swiss but I made him part of the French mob group instead lol hope that's alright


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